Singularity
by McSquidster
Summary: The only thing Natsu had ever wanted in life was to travel the galaxy. Earning fame and glory along the way were just added bonuses. But meeting her, and finding something actually worth living and fighting for, were things he'd never expected. Though, as unexpected as it all was, the fate of the entire galaxy would soon depend on them, their friends, and the bond they all shared.
1. Chapter 1

The air snapped, a brilliant, blinding white light flashing to life and illuminating the room before fading again in an instant. The nearly deafening sound of an energized burst, accompanied by a pair of rather undignified squawks, reverberated between the metal walls of the transport room as two figures plunged from the fluid disks on the ceiling and tumbled to the floor on top of one another.

"You're-you're crushing my spleen," Natsu strained beneath the weight of the other boy, spitting out a mouthful of orange sludge that had somehow been flipped up from the ground and into his mouth during their restless time spent on the planet where their most recent mission had taken place.

"Oh please, you don't even know where your spleen is," Gray grumbled. A groan slipped through his lips, his joints aching and his muscles sending an uncomfortable thrum through his body when they tensed as he rolled off of the salmon haired boy. He flopped onto his back next to his companion, the same orange sludge that had somehow wound up Natsu's mouth coating most of his clothes and causing a raucous squelching noise as he moved, his chest heaving as he huffed out, "We still alive?"

"I think so," Natsu pushed himself onto his hands and knees as he looked around at their surroundings, "I'd hate to think heaven looks like this."

Gray propped his upper body up on his hands and let out a relieved breath when his vision finally cleared enough for him to recognize their ship's transport room, his glare slowly sliding to the salmon haired boy beside him, "It takes a very special kind of idiot to pull off what you just did, ashface."

Natsu shot to his feet, haughtily exclaiming, "Hey, I didn't kill anyone today!"

The raven haired boy stood, too, making use of his slight height advantage by leaning into his rival's face as he ground out, "So what? You want a fucking gold star?"

The sharp slap of hurried footfalls on metal began to echo throughout the hallway just outside the transport room, and a furious Erza was soon flying into the space. She came to a quick stop in front of them and crossed her arms under her breasts, her eyes blazing as she commanded, "Spill it. What the hell did you idiots do?"

Gray gave Natsu one last sneer before he turned away, beginning to recount the happenings of his and Natsu's mission, "Started out fine. It was a breeze to disable their security system, and flamebrain snuck in without a hitch. But then ten minutes later, this moron flies into the forest screeching, an entire legion of those things on his ass." He shivered as he recalled the savage appearance of the ape-like creatures they'd faced. Dealing with exotic, alien lifeforms was definitely one of his least favorite parts of their line of work. "Next thing I know, an explosion sends me flying into a tree, and when I recovered the whole damn building was on fire."

Erza's head whipped towards the salmon haired boy, her lips clenched tightly together in fury and her eyes blazing with indignant irritation.

Natsu held up his hands in defense, "Ya know, technically, it wasn't on fire."

"Of course it wasn't on fire!" Gray spat back. "You fucking blew it up!"

"Well at least I was doing _something!_ Your lazy ass just sat on the perimeter the entire time!"

"Because that was _the plan_ , ash-for-brains!"

"Shut it!"

They silenced immediately at Erza's shout, but their glares persisted in the other's direction at full force.

The red head let out an exasperated sigh, "Did you at least get the case?"

A smug smirk spread across Natsu's lips as he finally peeled his focus off of Gray, reaching down to retrieve the item from the floor, "Of course."

Erza quickly snatched it from his hands, her lips pressing into a thin line as she used her thumb to wipe away the thick orange sludge over its latch to examine the lock, "All that, and we don't even get to know what's inside."

"Those things nearly killed us when they saw we had it," Gray crouched down to retrieve one of his blasters from where it'd skidded to during his and Natsu's harsh landing, his lips twisting in a sour pout when he noticed his weapon was completely coated in the same orange gunk covering the case, and the majority of his and Natsu's bodies for that matter. That planet had definitely been one of the least pleasant places he'd been for a mission, and he was sure that traces of it would remain within the crevices of his favorite blaster to haunt him for months to come. "Must be something insanely valuable if the council put us through all that shit to get it."

"I don't give a damn about what's inside," Natsu ran his fingers through his hair to collect the orange sludge clinging to his salmon strands, flicking it off of his hand with a groan of disgust. "Let's just get this over with and get it to the council so we can move on to the next job." He suddenly chuckled to himself, sending a pointed look at Gray as he snidely remarked, "Besides, the real treasure is the memories we made along the way."

The raven haired boy snapped, shoving him back with fist to his chest, "I almost died!"

A wicked smirk spread across Natsu's lips as he recalled the moment when Gray had only narrowly avoided getting nailed by a dematerializing blast from one of the alien's weapons, "Ah yes, my fondest memory."

"Oh, I'll give you something to remember!" Gray launched himself at the other boy, his fist poised to punch him the face.

Erza rolled her eyes as the boys tackled one other, childish insults spewing from their mouths as they pummeled the other with their fists. Normally, she'd break up their fights with a few quick words to send them to their opposite sides of the ship. But she'd already had enough of dealing with their bullshit today, and the tactlessness with which they'd barely managed to complete their mission had drained her of her will to care about their wellbeing, at least for the moment. She figured that if she let them fight, they'd push themselves to exhaustion and she'd be free of their bickering for the rest of the day.

So she turned on her heel and strode off with the case they'd retrieved, her only concern whether or not the transport room would remain fully functional after their brawl had reached its peak.

* * *

After a much needed shower, in which his drain had become clogged with orange sludge as he scraped it off of his skin and out of his hair, Natsu meandered into the bridge, his favorite room onboard their ship by far.

He plopped himself in his pilot's seat with a pouch full of his favorite spicy urug jerky, the kind that could only be found in the Reum Star System, and propped his feet up on the edge of his steering console, contentedly gazing at the stars speeding past beyond the bridge's window.

The warping of the stars had always made him incredibly sick when he'd first been taught how to pilot spacecraft, and it'd taken him years to become acclimated to the propulsion of traveling faster than light itself.

He could stomach the sight and disorientation now, and he'd even go as far as saying he got a slight thrill from it. He'd always dreamt of travelling the galaxy when he was younger, though he'd never imagined that his adventure would come in the form of a pilot's license. He couldn't say he regretted landing on that path though, however unexpected it was, fully content with where his journey had taken him.

The view of space speeding past from the bridge was perfect.

Well, _almost_ perfect.

There were a few dead pixels in the corner of his console's display that constantly drove him a bit bonkers, and Gray had refused to fix the auto-repair system that managed the console countless times by claiming he had more important matters onboard to tend to. Which, Natsu had to admit, he probably did. The raven haired boy was their ship's mechanical engineer, and its entire operation relied heavily upon his abilities. Of course there were the auto-repair systems, but their functionality provided only a temporary fix when battles got tough and their systems were damaged and, in the worst case, completely disabled. In those times, the ship wouldn't work at all without the raven haired boy's quick thinking and engineering capabilities.

Nevertheless, the pilot was fairly certain that the frustration the dead pixels brought him was the main reason Gray left them in disrepair. The mechanic was always looking for ways to tick him off, and he succeeded more often than the salmon haired boy was willing to admit.

The aforementioned display suddenly flashed to life with the notification of an incoming video transmission, and Natsu's eyes widened a fraction when he caught sight of who it was from.

* * *

Erza landed in a crouch on the sprung floor of their ship's training room with a loud exhale, purple light trailing after the blade in her right hand in an arc, the brightest light in the dimly lit room by far. It was one of the swords Gray had customized for her a few years back, the blade now doubly lethal with its sharpness and mechanized tendrils on the central ridge, which set it aglow with a dangerous purple radiance.

On missions, she was often taunted by their enemies for her weapon of choice, and she was always rewarded with immense satisfaction upon proving that her blade was far better than their aim. But there was another reason she preferred a sword, whether mechanized or not, over any other weapon in the galaxy. The art of wielding her blades represented thousands of years of tradition. It was her people's pride.

Or at least…it _had_ been.

"Erza…ya there?"

At Natsu's voice in her ear, she straightened herself out from her crouch, sword still within her grasp as she used the back of her hand to wipe away the sweat on her brow. She inhaled deeply a few times to steady her breathing, pressing her fingertip against the com in her ear to turn on her mic, "Yeah. Go ahead."

"Your boyfriend's calling."

Her jaw clenched at Natsu's choice of words as she slid her thumb along the hilt of her sword to deactivate it, placing it back on its stand by her other blades before storming out of the room and towards the bridge, "Call him that again and I'll cut your tongue out."

* * *

When Erza entered the bridge, Natsu was trying his very best to look busy by fingering the buttons and levers on his control board, his lips folded into his mouth and tightly clamped shut as if he really thought she was going to follow through with her threat.

She only spared him a quick glance and rolled her eyes at his attempt of avoiding her attention before turning to the large screen beside the entrance. She let the salmon haired pilot get away with his shenanigans this time, deeming the person on the screen much more worthy of her interest for the moment.

His features lit up a fraction as she stepped into his line of sight, but she kept her expression firm and didn't return the sentiment. It'd been almost two years since he'd last made any effort to contact her, and she had every intention of making sure he knew exactly how she felt about his lack of communication. She crossed her arms beneath her breasts, lacing her expression with fury to mask the relief she felt at seeing him alive after going so long with no knowledge of his well-being or whereabouts, "Where the hell have you been, Jellal?"

"Working," he replied simply, an obvious lie.

Their lives were never that simple. With the way the galaxy functioned nowadays, work was never just work and that made everything a hell of lot more complicated than it used to be. Their pasts forced everlasting ties with the conflict that was tearing the galaxy to shreds upon them, and as long as things remained the way they were, there would be no peace to be enjoyed by anyone who was unfortunate enough to have been born in a time such as theirs.

He didn't give her a chance to voice her complaints, his tone laced with traces of regret, but also with determination as he pressed on, "I know it's been far too long since we last talked, but I'm afraid I don't have the luxury of the time needed to fill you in on the details of the past two years. I know I may no longer be deserving of your kindness, but I have a favor to ask of you and your crew."

That piqued Natsu's interest in their conversation, and he was quickly spinning his chair around to face the screen.

The desperation in Jellal's voice caught Erza off guard, and she searched his expression for any clue as to why he sounded so hopeless. There were definite bags beneath his eyes, and his entire face seemed to be slightly drooping with fatigue. The horrible pixilation of his video transmission prevented her from seeing any more details of his face, and the space behind him was rather dark, leaving no context clues as to his location. But regardless, wherever he was calling them from, it had a terrible connection, which lead her to believe that his situation was more desperate than she'd originally thought upon first seeing his face on the screen.

"I'm traveling with a companion," Jellal resolutely continued, "and I've recently found myself unable to keep them in my company any longer."

Erza caught on in an instant, raising a brow, "So what? You want us to take them in?"

"No chance in hell," Natsu's voice suddenly sounded out behind her, and she whirled her head around to find him with his arms solidly crossed over his chest, his features set in an adamant glare.

Jellal wasn't one to be deterred so easily, "Natsu-"

"I said no," the salmon haired boy firmly repeated. "This is one of the best fighter ships in the galaxy, not some charity home. We work for the council, and that means we're constantly putting our lives on the line and charging into battle. We can't support a freeloader who'd just get in our way."

"Look, you don't need to provide food or anything else like that," Jellal reasoned evenly, clearly having thought over his argument beforehand. "I've already supplied them with everything they'll need for their time aboard your ship. All I ask is that you prepare a room. I promise they won't be a bother. You'll hardly even notice their presence. Please, Erza. They have nowhere else to go."

Despite her anger over his lack of contact, the red head found herself unable to refuse his favor, letting out a heavy sigh, "For how long?"

"Erza!" Natsu haughtily protested.

Her head snapped towards him, her voice firm, "You may be the ship's pilot, but you're certainly not its captain. Don't forget that _I_ was the one who asked to join this crew, and that means that I can kick you out any time I'd like."

"Aye," the salmon haired pilot shrunk back into his chair, cowering into the back cushion and solemnly swiveling around to mindlessly fiddle with his control board again. However, he still kept his ears focused on the conversation behind him, not very keen on the idea of letting a complete stranger onboard _his_ ship, regardless of Jellal's promises.

And regardless of the fact that Erza had been the one to recruit him, he still did fully consider it _his_ ship. Without its pilot and mechanic, the ship would be completely useless, and therefore it belonged to them more than it did to the red headed weapons expert. And he sure as hell wasn't considering himself part of Gray's crew, so the ship was his, and there was no way Erza could change that fact in his mind.

Jellal's gaze flooded with gratitude, his voice full of relief as he gave his answer, "At this point, I can't be sure…a few months, maybe? I just need some time on my own to figure out my next path."

Silence filled the bridge as Erza thought over what he'd asked of them, her lips pursed and her eyes trailing off to the side in thought.

Natsu's fingers paused in their mindless fiddling as he awaited her answer, mentally chanting, ' _Say no. Say no. Say no. Pleeeeeaassse say no.'_

"We're meeting with a member of the council in two days' time on the Helios Station. We're scheduled to dock in hanger seven, pad three. Meet us there."

The salmon haired pilot visibly deflated in defeat, though neither Erza nor Jellal were paying him any mind at this point.

"Thank you, Erza," Jellal breathed out, his voice laced with the utmost gratitude and relief.

Natsu tuned out their conversation as they gave short goodbyes, grumbling to himself about how he'd get Erza back for letting a complete stranger on _his_ ship, knowing she'd only given in because it was _Jellal_ who'd asked.

He wasn't planning on being very welcoming to their 'guest,' no matter what connections to Jellal they had. Like he'd said, their ship was designed for fighting, and any extra person aboard it who served no purpose to their cause was an unnecessary nuisance, one he'd quickly shed without hesitation if worse came to worse.

* * *

"So…why wasn't I invited to the meeting where we decided to adopt somebody?"

Erza rolled her eyes at the raven haired mechanic's question, determinedly weaving through the crowd of people on the Helios Station and back to the hanger where they'd docked their ship before their meeting with the council member to hand over the case they'd retrieved, "We're not ' _adopting'_ anyone. Whoever it is, they're not here to stay. They'll only be with us for a few months."

Gray huffed out a breath, "And you're one hundred percent certain that whoever it is Jellal's dumping on us is trustworthy? Like…we're not gonna have eggs implanted in us while we're sleeping or some other freaky shit like that?"

Natsu shivered at the thought.

Neither he nor the raven haired mechanic could see Erza's face from where the pair was trailing behind her, but her second eye roll of the conversation was practically audible in her voice as she reprimanded, "Don't be stupid. I see no reason why we should have any concern over their character. If Jellal trusts them, then so do I."

The salmon haired pilot leaned over to whisper to the boy beside him, a chuckle in his voice as he quipped, "She's totally whipped for hi-"

His snide remark was cut short when she whipped around and buried her fist in his stomach, his body doubling over as a groan burst from his lips and his arms wrapped around the abused area once her fist had withdrawn.

"Idiot," Gray snickered, obviously gaining satisfaction from the pilot's pain. "Thought you would've learned not to mess with Erza by now."

" _Shut up_ ," Natsu strained out, still hunched over and clutching at his middle.

The redhead sharply cleared her throat before whipping back around to walk through the gate that lead to the hanger where they'd docked their ship, her authoritative voice carrying over her shoulders to the boys in her stead once more, "I expect you two to treat our guest with all the hospitality you can muster. Which isn't much, I know, considering you're a rather incapable pair," she jabbed, still upset with their shoddy performance on their last assignment.

She suddenly paused in her steps, Natsu nearly running into her from behind due to his lack of attention for where he was headed.

His focus followed the redhead's to the pad where they'd docked, finding that two hooded figures stood near the closed entrance of their ship, the taller of the pair removing the fabric concealing their face upon looking in their direction.

Blue hair slipped free of the hood to be set aglow by the artificial light of the Helios Station's seventh hanger, and as the three approached the place where he and his companion stood, Jellal gave them a gentle smile, removing the cloth that had concealed the lower half of his face as well.

"Erza," he hummed warmly in greeting as the trio stepped within earshot, unintentionally and momentarily ignoring the two boys that accompanied the scarlet haired woman. "It's been quite some time."

"It certainly has," her voice held none of the fire it'd held during their exchange via video a couple of days prior, a small smile adorning her own features as she looked the blue haired man over in person for the first time in two years.

Natsu's eyes quickly shifted between the two, beginning to feel more and more like he didn't belong in this moment as time went on. They were just staring at each other now, without saying anything, and it was seriously weirding him out.

He'd never loved anyone, at least not romantically, so how the hell was he supposed to understand and relate to what was happening the between the two before him, both so obviously in love with the other even though they refused to admit it themselves?

One thing he knew for sure though was that as an outsider, watching them dreamily gaze at one another in silence was awkward as hell, and it kind of made him want to throw up.

Gray suddenly cleared his throat, bouncing on the balls of his feet once before he started up the ramp that led into their ship, "Well…this is awkward, so I'll be excusing myself." He gave Jellal a quick two-fingered salute in farewell before he disappeared into the ship, the clanking of his feet on the metal paneling on the floor soon fading away.

His disturbance of the silence that had settled upon the group seemed to finally snap Jellal and Erza out of their daze, the blue haired man clearing his own throat before casting a glance at his almost forgotten companion and cutting straight to the chase, "It's unfortunate that we weren't able to reunite under more pleasant circumstances, but the situation was desperate."

Natsu's gaze slowly shifted to the figure standing silently at Jellal's side, their hood still pulled over their head and their focus lowered to hide their face in the shadow cast by the fabric. The salmon haired pilot guessed they were about a head shorter than him, though given the distance between them, he wasn't entirely positive. Due to the hooded poncho draped over their torso, he couldn't see much of their frame other than their narrow shoulders, thin calves, and booted feet, but from those characteristics he concluded that whoever it was must be a teen, probably only a few years younger than him.

"I wish we could converse longer, but I must be on my way," Jellal cast a quick glance at both Erza and Natsu in turn as if in apprehension before turning to his hooded companion and resting his hands on their shoulders, his voice dropping in volume as he murmured a few words in a foreign tongue.

The metal-paneled floor beneath them groaned as the salmon haired pilot shifted on his feet, agitated by his lack of understanding of the one-sided exchange. It bothered him to think that Jellal had switched languages for the sake of keeping the contents of his speech confidential from him and Erza, though he also picked up on the possibility of the hooded figure not knowing their language. Either way, he didn't like being excluded from knowing information, whether it be words of wisdom or a simple farewell. He wanted every bit of information he could get about the person who'd be staying on his ship for the next few months, though it appeared he'd be getting no verbal cues as to who they were, their only response to Jellal's words a single, gentle bob of their head.

Having received physical confirmation of his companion's understanding, the blue haired man turned back to the two standing before the entrance to the ship, one of his hands still resting on the shoulder of his hooded acquaintance as he sincerely bid them good tidings, "Take care on your journey. Wherever you may go, my well-wishes go with you."

"We wish you the same," Erza returned the sentiment, her regret over their short meeting evident in her eyes. Though, she was well aware of Jellal's wish to be rid of this place, so she turned her focus to his hooded companion, offering them a warm smile even though their gaze was still downcast, "I'll show you to your room."

Natsu curiously watched the figure as they silently followed behind Erza, still wary of letting a complete stranger board his ship. He didn't give his trust so easily, and those that had earned it were few in number.

His breath caught in his throat when part of their hood was swept back as they brushed past, a small portion of their face revealed to his gaze. The rough brown material of the hood caressed a pale cheek that was speckled with tiny, glittering lights unlike anything he'd ever seen before. He would have compared them to freckles if they weren't so perfectly spaced across their skin, not to mention the fact that they seemed to shine like stars in the night sky. The same markings ran in three vertical lines beneath their mouth, stretching from beneath their soft, pink lips and disappearing over the curve of their chin. Those lips were very obviously feminine, and the curves of their facial features lacked the definition prominent in most males.

When Jellal had asked them to take someone in, Natsu hadn't know what he'd been expecting, but it certainly hadn't be _this._ A hardened criminal maybe, or perhaps an endangered politician or galactic elite would've been plausible, but not _this._ If what he'd seen of the _girl's_ features were anything to go by, she was far too young and delicate to be anything of the sort.

Why was Jellal traveling with a girl like that? And why had he felt the need to send her aboard their ship?

He turned to Jellal with hundreds of questions on his tongue, but the man was already gone, having disappeared amongst the crowd in the station without a trace.

* * *

 **AN**

 **I kind of posted this on a whim, hoping that I'll get some feedback to inspire me. I normally don't post fics until I've got at least a few chapters written, and while I do have a plan, I only have about half of the next chapter written...I just need the inspiration and motivation to get it finished...**

 **Anyways, yaaay sci-fi! Fantasy and sci-fi are my two greatest loves when it comes to fiction, and since there's plenty of fantasy to go around both in the original FT verse and in the FT fanfiction world, I thought I'd give writing a science fiction FT story a try! And also, the FT fandom is seriously lacking in the sci-fi department…so I thought I'd do my best to contribute.**

 **This fic might be the longest I ever write, but I'm really not sure at this point. I only have very vague outlines for events that occur towards the end of the story, but right now, it looks like we'll have around eight or nine arcs that I'm considering the 'main' arcs, and there'll also be a few lesser arcs and bridge chapters. In fact, this was originally supposed to be one of those 'rewrite the entire plot of FT but in this universe' stories, which is why the structure is kind of similar, but then I just kinda trashed the idea cause it made me bored since there's already a handful of those and it somewhat restricted my freedom in a few aspects. There will definitely still be a lot of events that are obviously inspired by the events of FT since I loved some of the plot points I came up with too much to let them go, but the overall basis and flow of events is completely independent from any influence from the original storyline…or at least I would like to think they are.**

 **With that being said, if you've read any of my fics before, you should know that I'm not afraid to kill off characters. I won't be killing characters left and right like I have in some of my other stories and it will be a long, long, long while before anyone major dies, but just know that it will happen down the line. No death in conflict is a very unrealistic thing, and we'll soon learn that the scope of the conflict in this universe is massive, so death is too be expected, just letting you know now.**

 **And since I know a lot of you are thinking about this, there will be ships. I think it's obvious that there's already some Jerza action going on, and as per usual, I can't write a fic without my other fav ships, Nalu, Gruvia, and Gajevy (and possibly some others that I'm currently undecided on). I'm particularly excited about the Gajevy since I've been really cruel to them in my other fics, especially Scarlet Heart, but I gave Gajeel kind of a special role in this fic that I'm super psyched about** **We won't really get to the super cool stuff until much later though, unfortunately, but when it comes, I hope it's more than worth it.**

 **But also, know that friendship will kind of take precedence over romance, at least at first, especially the friendship between Natsu, Lucy, Gray, and Erza, since I'm using them as the main characters of this fic (which I'm super psyched about because this is the first time I'm using Erza as a main character!). I feel its only fitting that such is the case since friendship is one of the main themes, if not, _the_ main theme, of Fairy Tail. **

**With all of that said, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter! Any feedback is greatly appreciated because ya girl is strugglin'...And also, I spent, like, 20 hours over the course of three months on the cover, so if you could at least look at that too, it would also be much appreicated...**

 **Anways, thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

With their latest mission at the forefront of his mind, Natsu strode forward with a purpose and his usual quirky grin, his sharp footfalls on the paneling of the floor echoing between the metal walls of the corridor and the bottom of the helmet of the skin-tight, gold-colored EVA suit he'd already adorned loosely clutched in his right hand, swinging at his side.

His path from the bridge to the airlock took him past their ship's greenhouse, the room flourishing with plants that produced oxygen and a decent amount of food for its crew of three. Of course, food was seldom scarce, for their lifestyle yielded more than enough profit for their sustenance, and the ship's life support system was plenty satisfactory for keeping the air on board rich and breathable. But there was a certain sense of amenity, of home and of life, that housing plants from across the galaxy provided which couldn't be achieved by anything artificial. The sight of the greenery thriving and baring fruit in the middle of space, a setting that was cold and empty, made life aboard a spaceship more bearable; made the lives they used to have on planets that naturally thrived with existence, feel not so distant, not so foreign and lost to their pasts entirely.

The view of the stars and distant systems through the half-dome of the greenhouse was certainly nothing to be forgotten either. The glass was designed to harness and amplify the light of the passing stars to nurture and feed the life it enclosed, yielding a sight that one would seldom be granted if looking at the same span of space with their naked eyes. The stars seemed to shine brighter, the black space between them a little less dark and cold-looking due to the enhanced gathering and pinpointing capabilities of the glass.

Despite its brilliance, the sight was one the salmon haired pilot had seen a thousand times, so he'd planned to walk right past the greenhouse's open blast doors.

It was only when he caught sight of an inconsistency in the familiar sight out of the corner of his eye that he slowly brought his steps to halt, his natural smile slowly fading as his head swiveled back in the direction of the doors.

A lone, hooded figure sat right in front of where the glass dome met the floor, the long, rough fabric of a brown poncho pooling on the ground behind and beside them. Pale forearms extended out from beneath the front of the bottom of the poncho, the thin limbs wrapping around a pair of knees to pull them into their owner's chest. The angle of their head gave away their gaze, which was slowly traveling over the span of shining space.

It was the girl, the one Jellal had left with them. The one with the tiny lights across her skin that shone like the stars beyond the window she'd seated herself in front of. Natsu could see now that the same lights he'd seen on her cheeks ran down the outsides of her forearms in lines, just like they ran down her chin.

She'd been on his ship for a little more than a month now, and yet he hadn't seen more than the bottom half of one side of her face. It was a given that since her physical features, other than her glittering skin, remained a mystery, he didn't know a single thing about her character either. The only thing he'd been able to conclude about her in the near five weeks she'd been traveling with them was that she was secretive and rather sneaky, since he never heard her, only caught the slightest of glimpses of her, or rather, the edges of her cloak or the heel of one of her boots, before she disappeared back into her room.

Jellal had been right when they'd first discussed the possibility of her stay on their ship. Natsu barely noticed her presence at all. Of course, he never completely forgot that she was there, in a room only a short distance down the hall from his own. But it was easy to ignore her presence, and even easier to pretend like there were still only three lifeforms aboard their ship. He, Gray, and Erza had seldom spoke of her, and it seemed that his crewmates found the girl easy to ignore and forget, too.

Other than when she first boarded their ship, this was the longest he'd been around her, and he had a feeling that that was because she didn't know he was there, staring at her from behind. She seemed too enraptured by the stars to be aware of much else, her body sitting perfectly still without so much as a flinch.

Only one word came to mind as he watched her for a moment longer, that word rooting him to his spot and prolonging his leave.

With the uncountable, beautifully bright stars as the backdrop for her thin, gazing frame, all he could think about as he stared at her from behind was that she looked… _lonely_.

* * *

The floor jolted beneath two pairs of feet, the magnetic soles of the boots of their gold and silver EVA suits tugging their bodies up and down with the sudden, but only momentary, quivering of the wrecked spacecraft. Only seconds later, a metal panel whizzed past the hole in the ship that the two boys had entered through, continuing on forever in the direction it'd been flung with no force to pull it from its path.

Natsu sucked in a sharp breath as his head whipped around to watch the shrapnel fly past the opening and only narrowly avoid hitting their own ship, his breath puffing against the cold glass mere inches in front of his face as he quietly, tentatively muttered, "What was that?"

There was a moment of silence before the voice of the boy next to him grumbled through the com system in his helmet, "Hell if I know."

He looked back to see that Gray's head had swiveled around from where he'd been fiddling with the control pad of the locked door they were trying to break into, the raven haired boy's midnight-blue eyes now suspiciously scanning over their surroundings through the visor of his own helmet, "Erza, you see anything?"

" _Nothing,"_ her voice filtered through their coms in their helmets, the redhead waiting back on their ship to manage the airlock when the boys returned from the wreck.

Their mission had first been labeled as a rescue operation, but they'd been told from the get-go that the chances of them finding anyone alive were slim. The coordinates they'd been sent to belonged to the expected location of a transport ship that'd gone silent over communications during its voyage, and their 'disappearance' had later been attributed to an enemy attack.

When the three-member crew arrived to find the ship in the state they'd expected, torn to shreds and cold and lifeless, they'd moved onto the second priority they'd been given by the council. They were to retrieve a case of valuable cargo from the destroyed ship's hold, and, like always, the content of the case they'd be retrieving was to remain confidential, which meant that whatever rested aboard that ship was incredibly important.

But, now that Natsu and Gray were aboard the wreck and standing before the blast doors of the hold where their sought-after cargo rested, it was beginning to seem like maybe the ship wasn't so void of life after all. Stagnant things in space didn't move unless a force was applied, and the ship had long since lost power, which meant that the cause of the earlier vibrations and flying shrapnel was definitely nothing mechanical. The salmon haired pilot couldn't see anything out of the ordinary though, and he definitely couldn't hear anything either.

If they hadn't been out in the middle of the vacuum that was space, he was sure that the sudden quivering of the wrecked spacecraft would've been accompanied by an awful crash if the tumultuous vibrating of the metal beneath them was anything to go by, but instead there wasn't a single sound to be heard. And as the seconds ticked by following the momentary quaking of the metal beneath his feet, Natsu was beginning to feel like he would've preferred to hear the sound if there had been enough atmosphere around them to carry it to their ears, because sometimes, silence was far more unsettling than noise.

The pilot often prided himself in his ability to not feel fear when faced with the unknown. With as long as he'd worked for the council, he liked to think he was immune to feeling fear of the danger they faced while out on missions, and if anything, the encountering and exploring the unknown only added to the thrill of the job.

But now that he was aboard the ship and scouring its insides, which had been torn asunder, the eight words that their ship had intercepted upon approaching the wrecked spacecraft were repeating themselves over and over in his head and sending spikes of apprehension through his veins.

' _Let us drift. It's for your own good.'_

The last message the transport ship had chosen to broadcast in place of a distress signal was a haunting one, but one that the council obviously had no intention of heeding since they hadn't let it hinder their quest for the cargo aboard.

Natsu snapped himself out of that thought trail of trepidation when his right peripheral was once more filled with light, and he turned to find that Gray had gone back to using his tools to mess with the wiring of the console for the hold's blast doors, his hands moving a bit quicker but with no less skill.

It'd been a few days since the ship had been attacked, which meant that whatever threat had been there, whatever had wrecked the ship _had_ to be gone now, because there was no known species that could survive the radiation in space and withstand the lack of atmosphere without protection.

It wasn't long before Gray had tripped the console and jumped enough power into the system for the blast doors to unlock and slide open, the movement causing the floor to vibrate beneath their feet once more, though it wasn't nearly as violent this time.

As soon as the way was clear, Natsu deactivated the magnetic soles of his boots and gave himself a little push off the ground so that he drifted up and the into the hold. Like he'd expected, everything in the large room was adrift, the ship's artificial gravity long since disabled. But weaving through the floating cargo in search of their desired case really wasn't much an issue for him. Between him and his two crewmates, he'd always been the best at maneuvering his body in zero-gravity, and though it wasn't often that he got to use his skills, they certainly came in handy more frequently than he'd first anticipated when Erza had asked him to join the crew. This wasn't the first time they'd been sent to scavenge a wrecked starship, and there'd been a few instances where their own ship's artificial gravity had malfunctioned due to damage they'd taken during a battle.

He reached the other side of the hold, pushing himself off of the wall opposite of the opening and sending himself drifting back through the field of cargo in the other direction, angling himself a little differently so that he soared towards the cases he hadn't seen on his first jump through the hold, the ones on the right side of the room. The space before him was lit by the strip of light that ran along the top of his visor, the light catching in the white paint that had been used to label the cases. His eyes scanned over every identification number he could see, shoving cases from his path and flipping them around to see their code as he passed until he found the one he was looking for.

BK-777-2.

It was upon one of the most unassuming cases that he found the identification code of the case they'd been told took priority over all of the others. It was black and only about the length of his forearm, and it was only a few inches thick. In fact, it looked a hell of a lot like the one they'd stolen from that planet with the ape-like aliens a month back, on the mission that'd taken place on the wretched planet that had left him and Gray coated with orange sludge.

He didn't spend too long lingering on that one, small thought though, knowing that it wasn't any of his business. All he had to do was complete his missions with no questions asked.

"Found it," he breathed, holding the case tightly to his chest with both arms as he crouched on one of the walls and launched himself back towards the open blast doors of the hold, curling his lower body in and activating the magnetic soles of his boots right as his feet hit the floor beside Gray.

"Good," the raven haired boy huffed through his coms, hugging his tool box to his chest. "Let's get the fuck off this ship."

Natsu only gave a quick nod in agreement, ready to be free of the wrecked spacecraft and whatever the hell it was that had caused the quaking earlier.

They pulled against the magnetic forces of their boots to walk back to the hole through which they'd entered the destroyed ship, taking a moment to aim their bodies before launching themselves from the edge of the wrecked metal and towards the back of their ship, where the primary airlock was. They both reactivated the soles of their boots once they were close enough, ensuring that they didn't go drifting off past their ship and into open space.

Erza already had the blast doors open for them, and while Natsu managed to land right inside, Gray had miscalculated a fraction, having to walk along the outside of their ship to find his way into the airlock.

As the door to the outside was sealed, they both welcomed the familiar pull of gravity and the compartment was flooded with oxygen, their helmets depressurizing as they twisted them from the necks of their suits.

Erza stood on the other side of the door that lead into the ship, immediately taking the case from Natsu's grasp before charging off to their ship's cargo hold to store the case somewhere safe, her feet clacking on the metal paneling of the floor.

Normally, Natsu might be made a comment about the redhead's hastiness, but he was silent this time. He didn't even bother peeling off his now-sweaty EVA suit before he hastily strode to the bridge, thrusting the controls of the FTL drive and launching their ship far, far away from whatever had been on that wreck and further into the heart of the council's territory, where he knew they'd be safe.

* * *

"Natsu!"

The salmon haired boy swiveled around in his chair at the riled shout of his name, catching sight of a murderous looking Erza storming onto the bridge. He held his hands up in defense, cowering into the back of his pilot's chair, "Okay, I assume I deserve this, but can you at least tell me why you want to kill me before you do so?"

"My swords," the red head towered over his seated form, her hands fiercely planted on her hips, "Two of them are missing and I _know_ it was you. One of the shelves was knocked over, too."

"Do you really think that I would take them again after what you did to me last time?" he shivered at the memory, phantom traces of pain threading up his skull. "I don't even dare step foot in that room, much less take two of those things from it."

Having assumed he'd made his point, he moved to swivel back around to face his control board, but she caught the back of his chair before he could complete his rotation, whirling him back to face her so she could loom even closer over him as she demanded, "Then who was it? Gray would never do such a thing."

"Well…" Natsu shrunk even further down in his chair, his eyes downcast as he spoke out of the corner of his lips, "…he's not exactly the only other person on this ship with us anymore."

Her brows furrowed as she pulled back, her arms crossing under her breasts, "What? You think it was the person Jellal left with us?"

Natsu shrugged as he straightened himself back up, his hands mindlessly running over his armrests, "I don't like pinning assumptions on someone I know nothing about, but…she's the only other option."

" _She_?" Erza repeated, quirking a brow. "How do you know it's a girl?"

He recalled the image of the lower half of a face with gentle, pink lips and soft cheekbones dusted by tiny lights that resembled stars, "Her hood fell back a bit when she first came on board. I didn't see much, but whoever they are…they're definitely female."

She turned away from him in thought, her voice apprehensive as she thought over the possibility of the mysterious girl being the thief, "I haven't seen her once since the day she came on board."

"I saw her last night, right before frosty and I jumped over to that other ship," Natsu lost himself in the memory, remembering how lonely she'd looked from behind. "She was sitting in the greenhouse, just…staring out the window."

"It just doesn't make any sense," Erza thought aloud as she began pacing, her voice troubled as she ran over the facts. "She didn't bring anything with her, and our food storage hasn't seemed to be affected at all by her presence."

Natsu shrugged once more, "Well, from what I could see, she had some weird shit on her face. Maybe she's not even human, so who knows what she eats."

The red head's focus whipped back to him, "What do you mean?"

The pilot ran the tip of his index finger in a horizontal line under his eye, "On her cheek, like this. And her chin and forearms, too. It kinda looked like tiny little lights had been embedded in her skin."

Her brows cinched in thought, "I've never heard of any species like that…And when I showed her to her room, she seemed to understand what I was saying just fine." Her pacing suddenly slowed to a sharp halt, "She didn't really even nod or anything, but…I could just tell that she was listening."

"Jellal spoke to her in language I don't think I've ever heard before," Natsu subtly shrugged, "so maybe she's part of some super rare species."

"Maybe," Erza thoughtfully hummed in agreement, her brows remained furrowed for a moment before she let out a heavy sigh and returned the subject to what she'd originally entered the bridge for. "Whatever the case, I don't think it would be best to barge into her quarters and accuse her of stealing my swords until we're positive that it was her."

Natsu had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at that. Erza had wasted no time in accusing him of stealing her swords with no proof that it was him, and yet now she was showing restraint when it came to a complete stranger, someone unknown that hadn't yet proved themselves at all trustworthy.

"This past month's gone without incident," she crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned against one of the bridge's consoles, her eyes still focused off to the side in thought, "so I don't understand she would suddenly lash out at us out of the blue…" Another heavy sigh slipped through her lips, "Besides, there's something I'm more eager to get out of her than whether or not she stole my swords."

"And that would be…?" Natsu trailed off, urging the weapon's expert to fill in the blank.

Erza's gaze finally slid to him, her voice resolute, "Her reason for needing somewhere to hide, and why Jellal was helping her in the first place."

The pilot was about to shoot another tentative jab at the redhead about how those were questions they _all_ had, but before he could, the ship shuttered violently, the power on the bridge surging in tandem before blinking out entirely.

Natsu's grip had tightened around the armrests of his chair when the quaking had started, his eyes flashing about the area to find that the hallway beyond the bridge was in a similar state of darkness, lit only by the emergency blue lights that ran in continuous strips along where the walls met the floor. His focus slid to the redhead he'd been conversing with, adrenaline flooding his veins as his body instinctively prepared itself for action and his brows furrowed as he hissed, "The hell?"

Erza sharply shoved herself back onto balance from where she'd stumbled back against one of the bridge's consoles and strode into the hallway, her voice filling with authority as she pressed the fingertip of her right index finger against the com in her ear to activate it, "Gray, what's happening?"

Knowing the weapons' expert would be giving him commands soon, the pilot followed after her, activating his own com just in time to hear Gray's reply.

" _No fucking clue. I'm on my way to the reactor now."_

Neither Natsu nor Erza could see the mechanic, but the rigidness and slight irritation in his voice made it easy for them to imagine his hardened expression, his quick pace practically audible through their coms.

Natsu quirked a brow as he realized where Erza was headed, though he still followed behind her nonetheless as she strode into the training room, likely to arm herself with a few of her swords. The pilot always kept a blaster at his hip on missions, but he was hardly ever armed while in the safety of their own ship because he saw no reason to be. Sure, Gray was annoying as hell, but that didn't mean that Natsu had any intention of shooting the mechanic, though he had certainly threatened to do so plenty of times.

Their ship was where he felt most at home, so in his mind, he had automatically attributed whatever had caused the power surge to a malfunction in their ship's systems, not any kind of physical threat. But the redhead obviously had other ideas, the pair of swords she was strapping to her hips giving her thoughts away.

" _Holy shit."_

Erza stilled in her movements as Gray cursed through their coms, leaving no room for the mechanic to be vague as she sharply ground out, "What is it?"

" _The core itself is fine, but the system's physically torn to shreds."_ His voice grew heavier as he hissed, _"This wasn't just a malfunction. Something…something did this. Something alive."_

The salmon haired pilot's eyes widened a fraction.

Erza had been right.

"I knew it," the weapon's expert huffed, her hands quickening in their movements as she armed herself in the near dark. "Something's felt off ever since we looted that wreck."

Natsu was still somewhat frozen in place, but he snapped out of it just in time to catch the blaster Erza had sent hurdling towards him. He had to scramble a bit to catch it with both hands, but the weapon soon found home in his grip, the fingers of his right hand settling around it like they had many times before and holding it before him at the ready.

Something was aboard their ship, something _hostile._ And if they didn't get rid of the threat soon, their ship would end up much like the other they'd scavenged only the previous night: torn to shreds and forever adrift in the endless universe they traversed.

* * *

Natsu pressed his back against the wall, leaning to the left and twisting to peek his head around the corner to make sure the way was clear. His only light came from the emergency strands that ran along the corners of the walls and floor, but if anything lurked in the shadows, he knew he'd be just fine, his blaster still held between both of his hands and his right index finger on the trigger. He waited a moment before peeling himself from the wall and striding around the corner, his eyes scouring every crevice and doorway he passed. It felt weird to traverse his own ship as if it were an enemy's, but he wouldn't let his guard down, not when there was something dangerous hidden in the walls of the place he felt most at home.

He hadn't seen the reactor room, but if Gray's words were anything to go by, it'd been torn to shreds. They couldn't let whatever had done that roam free for the sake of protecting their other, more vital systems like life support.

Erza's commands had been simple: split up and cover every inch of the ship. That way, they could cover more ground and remove the threat faster.

Without knowing what they'd be facing, it was hard to guess whether it was something they could take down solo. But they were each capable enough of holding out on their own for at least a little while, and once one of them found the threat, the other two would be rushing to the scene to lend their aid. And Natsu was sure that nothing in the galaxy stood a chance against the three of them when they were all together, fighting side by side.

The pilot sucked in a slow, quiet-as-possible breath as the metal panel beneath him screeched with the shifting of his weight during his slow walk forward.

The metal paneling of the floor screeched again, but this time it was louder, and Natsu's entire body tensed, the back of his neck prickling when he processed that the noise wasn't the result of his own movements, but of the movements of something behind him.

He whipped around just as his ankle was enclosed by something long, thin, and slithery, his eyes widening at the mere glimpse he got of the _thing_ that was upon him.

In that quick moment, it looked only like a black, writhing mass of tentacles that stood at least three feet taller than him, a quintet of glowing, blue eyes peering at him from the center of the many slithering limbs.

That was all his mind could take in before his world went sideways, the creature using the grip it had on his ankle to tug his feet out from under him. Air whizzed past his ears as he was flung to the side, his body soaring through one of the openings in the hallway. He hit metal soon enough, his body slamming against a rigid corner.

Instinctively, he immediately sought to push himself to his feet and his eyes shot open to figure out where he was, but he could only process the stars beyond the glass dome above him and a leaf hanging in his line of sight before his thoughts were jolted to the familiar pain in his side as he propped himself up against what he could only assume to be one of the metal planters of their ship's greenroom.

His hand instinctively came to his side and he knew right away that his ribs were broken, nearly in the same place he'd broken them once before. But before he could let himself get caught up in the feeling, an agonizing force blew through his shoulder, once more tearing his thoughts away from their current course.

His vision went white for a moment, but when it cleared, his focus dazedly sought out what the hell had just impaled itself in his shoulder, his eyes widening at the sight.

He'd found Erza's swords, and one of them was now embedded in his shoulder, pinning him to the metal planter behind him.

There was a horrid shriek accompanied by a crash, and his eyes fluttered towards the doors to see the alien charging to finish off its pray, dirt and greenery alike spilling across the floor as it tore through the greenhouse towards him with one of its tentacles coiled around the hilt of its second stolen sword. The fact that the thing had taken two of Erza's blades and remained undetected aboard their ship since they'd scavenged that wreck, because Natsu knew that that shaking and piece of flying debris had to have something to do with this creature, let the pilot know that the alien was intelligent, which meant his chances of survival were all the more slim.

Natsu's hand wrapped around the sword in his opposite shoulder, his teeth clenching as he had to settle for gripping the blade instead of the handle in his fight to unpin himself because the handle was out of his reach. His ribs ached as he pulled with everything he had, but even that wasn't enough, his own blood causing his grip on the sword to slip.

The creature loomed closer.

He was probably going to die, and by his friend's own sword and in the very ship that had given him everything by which he defined himself, no less. There were worse places to be before death, he supposed, but that wouldn't stop him from fighting to prevent to his end with everything he had left.

As the creature brought its remaining sword down, Natsu's eyes scrunched shut, figuring the blow would hurt less if he didn't know when exactly it was coming.

The world around him went white and silent as the screeches and clambering of the alien before him faded.

But, contrary to what the pilot had expected, there was no pain; no pressure anywhere on his wounded form that issued death or accompanied the blow he'd been expecting. If anything, as the seconds ticked by and as the white world beyond his eyelids remained ever bright, he felt only relief. It was as if the tension in his muscles was forced to fade, and the spikes of pain that had accompanied the simple act of breathing ever since he'd broken his ribs fluttered into nonexistence, along with the agony in his shoulder.

He'd briefly and hurriedly done his best to prepare himself for death, but really, he wasn't sure that this was it. There hadn't been a second of pain before everything had gone white, and he was more than well aware of the fact that he was closing eyes against the light instead of the light consuming him like it did in most rumors about what death was like. He was still consciously breathing, too, his chest heaving as he raggedly drug in the frigid air around him, the sudden cold in the room further soothing his burning, exhausted body.

When the once blinding white light finally faded enough for him to peel open his eyelids once more, his eyes widened as far as they could against the remaining radiant light that was clustered before him.

An arm, thin and pale, but not unhealthy so, was extended to the side of the figure that now stood protectively in front him, the hand of their outreaching arm consumed in a light that shone as brightly and as purely white as a star. Long, golden hair furled through the air around them as their brown hood slipped free of their head, the loose fabric of their poncho still fluttering and swishing against their legs.

The brown poncho gave their identity away, Natsu's eyes widening even further as his gaze traveled from their fluttering, golden-blonde hair to the familiar pair of brown boots on their feet.

It was the girl again, the one that Jellal had left with them.

When, exactly, she'd come to stand before him, he didn't know. He hadn't seen her approach nor had he sensed her presence at all before she'd appeared. He supposed he could've just been distracted enough by the creature not to notice her, but the light that gathered unnaturally in the palm of her hand told him otherwise.

It was implausible really, to think that that blinding light from before had come from her, but it was something he couldn't refute either when she was literally holding the same light in the palm of her hand.

As his eyes blearily traveled through her defensively spread legs to see what had become of the alien that'd nearly been upon him, he saw that the creature was experiencing the same feelings of forced relaxation that he was, though it must've been to a greater extent; the creature's frame splayed across the floor as if its body had completely given out on it and collapsed, its many limbs still riling about as if it was struggling against some invisible force and fighting off unconsciousness.

The pilot's gaze slowly drifted back up to the girl.

The feeling of calm…it had come in sync with the first wave of blinding light, which led Natsu to believe that the pulsing energy that had washed over him and forced the tension from his body was coming her, too, the girl with the golden hair.

He watched what followed through bleary vision, his mind half-positive that he was just seeing things due to the pain he felt or some head injury he'd recieved upon impact, because what was happening was unlike any sight he'd ever seen or ever dreamed of seeing.

The girl threw the light clustered in her hand like one would throw a ball, the air filling with a wretched screeching as the gathered light exploded against the creature's skin. One of its tentacles lashed out, but she dodged its panicked strike, the slithery limb only ripping her poncho from her shoulders instead of plunging through her middle.

She vanished from where she stood before him, and it took him a moment to find her again, his eyes landing on her as she charged towards the left, bending down to snatch something from the floor before placing her foot on the edge of one of the meter-high metal planters and launching herself into the air, higher than Natsu would've thought possible for someone of her stature.

Damn…he'd give anything to see her face.

There was a glint of light upon silver as she raised the object she'd retrieved from the floor above her head while still airborne. At first, he blearily thought that it might be the sword that had impaled his shoulder, but when he moved only a slight fraction, he felt that it was still there, pinning him in place. She must've stolen the sword she had now from the alien's grasp, and now she was using its own weapon against it, her trajectory proving true as she finished her descent back to the floor, the blade stabbing through the creature's core as she came down upon it.

The writhing of its tentacles ceased.

Natsu fought to keep his eyes open as the pain returned all at once and threatened to steal his consciousness from him, his breath coming in short gasps, partially from the pain and partially from the fact that the alien that'd nearly taken him out in the matter of only a few moments had been felled in nearly the same short span of time.

Just when he thought he might finally pass out, a pair of cool hands gently cradled either side of his face, and his eyelids peeled back open to find the sight he'd been seeking during the fight that'd taken place before him.

He was greeted by a pale face with star-like freckles, the little lights speckling her features in perfect patterns. A pair of eyes, warm and brown and soft, found his, their depths filled with concern, but also with vibrancy and compassion.

She couldn't be real.

He'd had the same thought earlier, while blearily watching her fight, but the claim was even stronger now that he'd seen her face. She looked so human, but at the same time, there was something about her, something other than the glowing freckles, that told him she wasn't. It was like a wave of calm and reassurance washed over him just by being in her presence, and once more, his pain began to fade.

Her breath gently puffed against his face as her eyes fell shut, and he swore the little lights on her skin shone brighter as she leaned forward to rest her forehead against his, the feeling of calm strengthening its hold over him so firmly that he felt like he was going to drift off into sleep.

But he fought to stay awake, because as her forehead remained gently pressed against his, he could _feel_ that she was real, her very existence glowing with a light so gentle and pure that it would put stars to shame.

* * *

 **AN**

 **And in the last chapter, there I was, claiming that romance wouldn't be a huge part of this fic until later…I mean, I guess it'll still be a while before anyone officially gets together, but this turned out way more "holy crap she's gorgeous" than I originally planned…**

 **But, holy ravioli, you guys! I asked for motivation, and y'all really came through! I mean, 25 follows, 14 favorites, and 11 reviews on just the first chapter?! You guys blew me away, so really, truly, THANK YOU! Your kind-hearted words seriously had me freaking the fuck out, and I'm glad that a lot of you picked up on the hints I was dropping ;)**

 **I think it's pretty clear now that one of our main characters (here I am, shamelessly pretending like y'all don't know who it is) isn't exactly human. In the next chapter, we'll already be learning a bit about who, or should I say** _ **what,**_ **she is.**

 **As always, thank you so much for reading! See you next time!**


	3. Chapter 3

Gray clenched his hand tighter around the blaster in his hand as he ran through their ship's still darkened corridors, knowing that all of the crashing and screeching he'd heard earlier definitely couldn't have been anything good. It'd come from the upper level of their ship, around the back, which was where Natsu had been sent to scout, and the pinkette's silence over their coms had him running faster towards his goal.

He wasn't worried, of course, not because he didn't care about Natsu, though he would never admit that he did, but because the pilot always miraculously found some way out of every sticky situation he found himself in. His ability to bullshit his way out of things was enviable, really, but Gray supposed that since their specific branch of the council was known for their talent in durability and longevity, Natsu fit right in. They all should have died a thousand times over by now, really, but they hadn't, albeit some of their friends escaping danger with a few less limbs than they'd had before.

His thoughts about the salmon haired idiot aside, he ran as fast as he could, more so because he was bent on getting revenge on whoever or whatever it was that had torn his favorite room aboard the ship to shreds. He'd _slaved_ over every wire, connection, and console in that room to keep their ship operating at its greatest capacity, and the fact that there were very few people in the galaxy who could claim they were the only mechanic aboard their ship like he could had given him an indomitable sense of pride. And that dignity drove him forward, his feet pounding on metal as he charged through the dark corridors, his path lit only by the thin strips of light on the edges of the walkways.

He nearly ran right past the greenhouse, but a tugging feeling in his chest told him that he _had_ to stop there, that that was where he'd find what he was looking for.

And sure enough, even in the darkness, he could see that the door frame had been mutilated out of its original shape, the metal contorting from its once perfect structure.

He nearly toppled over with how fast he whipped through the twisted doorway and immediately slid to a stop, his fingers tightening around his blaster and his eyes widening at what he found amidst the greenery in the starlit room.

There was a giant black carcass in the middle of the room, and although that made his eyes go wide, his gaze didn't linger on it for long. He immediately sought out his crewmate, though his eyes didn't have to wander for long, an unnatural white glow on the other side of the carcass drawing his focus.

A figure with blonde hair was kneeling over the collapsed form of another, the vibrant salmon tufts peeking over their shoulder letting Gray know that he'd found the person he sought.

He couldn't see much of Natsu other than his legs, which were extended out beneath the person kneeling over him, but he could definitely see the blood pooling on the floor, and the completely stillness of Natsu's legs gave him enough information to begin figuring out what had happened.

His gaze immediately scrutinized the form kneeling over their ship's pilot, his eyes not having to search for long to find a reason to believe that this was the person who'd hurt his crewmate.

That symbol on the back of their black shirt. He was painfully familiar with its marring red, spiked curves and jutting edges, and the sight of it automatically sent fury boiling through his veins. It belonged to _them._ The Balam Alliance. Their enemy.

Gray didn't know where the mass of black tentacles on the ground before him had come from, but it'd only taken him an instant to figure out who the blonde was. He'd only gotten a brief look over of their 'guest' when they'd first boarded the ship, but the white pants and brown boots on the figure blocking his view of Natsu were the same he'd seen on the lower half of the figure that'd stood beside Jellal.

They should've known better than to let a complete stranger aboard their ship without searching them, without interrogating them to find out who they were and where their allegiance lied.

When facing the Alliance once years ago, Gray had hesitated, and he wouldn't make the same mistake again.

He aimed his blaster, both of his arms extended straight in front of him and his weapon nestled between both of his hands as he fired.

The blue blast caught them between the shoulder blades, a jolt rippling through their frame before their body went limp, collapsing forward onto his crewmate.

Gray surged forward, not reacting much at all when he learned that Natsu was very much awake, the pilot scrambling to catch the suddenly unconscious figure crumpling on top of him with one hand.

Natsu's eyes were wide, his voice accusing as he hissed, "What the hell, snowflake?!"

"I only stunned them," the mechanic spat as he closed the remaining distance. He paid his crewmate no heed, not an ounce of hesitance nor regret in his actions as he gripped the blonde's shoulder, yanking them off of his crewmate so that their body tumbled onto the floor.

"Hey! Be careful with her!"

Gray drew back a bit as he saw their face, having not expected what greeted his gaze.

It was a girl, one with unnatural, glittering lights scattered across her pale skin. She looked rather fragile, especially now that she was unconscious, everything about her features soft and gentle and not at all what he'd been expecting of someone who wore the symbol of their enemy.

"She was helping me!" Natsu huffed, sounding exhausted and out of breath, but still more than aware enough to be annoyed with what was happening.

Gray only now noticed that the pilot had a sword in his shoulder, pinning him to the metal planter behind him. He quirked a brow, kneeling down to grab the hilt as he jabbed, "Didn't look like it from where I was standing."

"She didn't do this," Natsu hissed through clenched teeth as the blade was pull from his flesh. Once it had clattered to the floor, he took a few deep breaths before he gestured towards the alien with his head as well as he could with his injuries, " _That_ thing did."

"You…" the mechanic glanced between the girl and the creature, his mind scrambling to fill in the blanks in disbelief, "So _she's_ the one that killed that thing?"

" _Yes,_ " Natsu insisted in exasperation.

"Who…" Gray's voice faded out when he looked back to her face, taking in the sight of her radiant markings once more and choosing to reword his question, "… _what_ the hell is she?"

* * *

Natsu had never liked being in the med bay of their ship. It was full of contraptions he didn't know how to work, its smell stung his nose, and of course, more often than not, his presence in the room meant that he'd gotten himself injured.

Which, rightfully, was one of the two reasons he found himself in the room now. Gray had restored power to some of their systems, and Erza had already subjected him to one of the many scanners in the bay. As per the treatment instructions they'd received after his scan, she'd forcefully sterilized his shoulder injury before sealing both the exit and entrance wounds and injecting him with nanofibers that would act as both the scaffolding and accelerators for the bone regeneration of his ribs. Her treatment had been followed by a sufficient dosage of pain-killers, though he was sure that she'd given more than he needed since she tended to be the type to be overly concerned, though she fought hard not to show it.

Maybe someday they'd have to find a medic to utilize the bay's facilities so that they didn't have patch up their wounds themselves without knowing much about what they were doing, and dealing with the extensive machinery was bother that Natsu would be glad to be rid of, too.

Once he was patched up as well as he could be, he turned his focus to the other reason he was in the med bay, his eyes turning to the same sheen of glass that Gray had been glaring through ever since he'd stepped through the door after restoring the ship's power.

The room on the other side of the glass was a chamber meant to suffice as a both a scanner and sterile operation room when it needed to be, but right now, it served as a cell.

The blonde girl, the one of light and infectious calm, was huddled in one of its back corners, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees and her head ducked low as if in shame. Natsu really couldn't blame her for acting like she was, really, with Gray's fierce glare never leaving her frame.

Her gaze had subtly drifted Natsu's way a few times since she'd woken up moments ago, particularly every time a subtle hiss had managed to slip through his lips during Erza's less-than gentle treatment of his injuries. She never held eye contact when he caught her staring though, her focus darting off the moment he looked her way.

Gray took Natsu swinging his legs over the edge of his the bed as his cue to begin their interrogation of the mysterious blonde, his voice cold as he ground out, "Who are you?"

Her gaze shot up to the mechanic for a moment at his sudden question before it dropped back to her knees just as quickly, her bottom lip retreating between her teeth as her brows furrowed a fraction.

She was silent for more than a few breaths, and Natsu was beginning to think that he'd been right earlier when he'd considered that their language might be foreign to her. That, or Gray had succeeded in terrifying her into silence.

He stood from the bed, but just as he was about to make a move to chastise the mechanic for being an asshole, the girl spoke, halting him in his steps.

"Before…"

Her voice was tentative and light, carrying the same sense of grace he'd seen her fight with in the greenhouse. But there were traces of hardship and remorse in her tone, too, those small factors leaving him all the more intrigued. Physically, she didn't look like she'd been through much, with her skin appearing untouched by any harm and her frame lacking any show of weakness other than the fear she felt under Gray's scrutiny. But Natsu could see undeniable traces of fatigue in her features, too, the depths of her eyes in particular paying witness to the calamity of whatever it was that she'd been through.

"…Before I came here…" she tapered off once more, licking her lips and swallowing heavily before regaining the courage to carry on, "…Jellal…he told me a bit about you guys."

To Natsu, it seemed as if she was handling her speech gingerly, the lulls between the short phrases she was stringing together full of hesitance and contemplation. Though, whether that was because she felt the need to think over her words carefully before speaking them or she lacked confidence in their tongue, he couldn't tell. In his eyes, either option was just as likely.

The blonde curled further into herself, her focus hesitantly darting up to the three on the other side of the glass and scanning over each of them in mere moments as if in apprehension before she quietly continued, "Given…given who you work for, I suppose you already know about…about the Alliance."

Gray shifted his weight at the word, his arms unfurling from where they'd been folded over his chest and his lips curling back as if in preparation for letting loose a nasty insult.

But before he could, the girl carried on, her voice suddenly taking on a different tone entirely as she bluntly, somewhat spitefully stated, "I'm their property."

The weight of those three words settled heavily upon them all.

Erza was the only one of the three-member crew capable of working past the weight of that short phrase to speak, though her question was rather simple and blunt, her brows furrowed as she took the slightest step forward, "What?"

"I…really don't know much, but I…I can tell you what I _do_ know."

Silence hung over the room for a few moments as Erza and Natsu shared a quick glance before turning their focuses back to the girl, though Gray's sharp stare still ceaselessly lingered on the blonde, not leaving her for even a second.

She took their attentive gazes as an indication to begin, swallowing heavily and dropping her focus to the ground, "The Alliance…they're looking for ways to enhance human life; to better humankind's capabilities and rid their people of the tedious necessities of survival."

Now Natsu knew for sure that their language certainly poised no difficulty for her, the range of her vocabulary catching him a little off guard at first. Unlike before, she was speaking steadfastly now, her knowledge on the subject seeming to give her the confidence she needed to speak steadily and without the many pauses she'd taken before.

"Things like eating and sleeping are nuisances to them, and wastes of time; time that could be spent performing tasks they deem more profitable and worthwhile. They aim to rid their people of fatigue and hunger by altering their bodies' processes, which would allow them to be free of the bother of finding food, too."

Natsu quirked a brow, wondering why she spoke as if the message she carried were a bad thing. The idea of not having to feel tired and hungry was incredibly appealing, because that meant he could spend more time on missions, which meant more time exploring the galaxy. And food was one of his greatest loves, so it was only natural that he should hate the feeling of hunger.

"Wouldn't living like that make everyone's lives a hell of a lot easier?" he voiced his thoughts, folding his arms over his chest.

He couldn't help but flinch the smallest fraction when her gaze snapped to him, and he knew right then from the look in her eyes that he'd missed a critical implication.

"The findings of their experiments aren't meant to be used to better the lives of the common people," she divulged, her voice growing heavier, "They're meant for soldiers. For war."

Her words shouldn't have been as much of a shock as they were, for the galaxy had been in a constant state of distrust and disunity ever since Natsu had been born. But to hear of one of the two major players in the tension taking such significant strides in preparations for the conflict that'd been brewing for centuries left him a bit short of breath, his chest immediately growing tight.

The Balam Alliance, the council's enemy, and therefore _their_ enemy, was making innovations far beyond anything they'd ever imagined. If the girl was right, and the Alliance reached their goal, war would be forever changed. There would be no need to supply food for their armies, which, in turn, meant that there would be more room on ships for weapons. There would be no need for their soldiers to take breaks from battle in order to rest, and instead they could continue fighting, pillaging, and killing.

The council wouldn't stand a chance against an enemy with those capabilities.

Before he could dwell on the inevitable for too long, Gray took a sharp step forward, his glare still coldly zeroed in on the girl and his voice low as he ground out, "If it was meant for soldiers, how'd they end up using it on you?"

Natsu's eyes widened as realization dawned on him at the mechanic's words, that whatever experiments she'd been talking about had been done _on her,_ and that that was why she knew so much about the Alliance's plans. He supposed he should've realized sooner, but he'd always been a bit slow when it came to processing implications and making connections, something Gray liked to tease him about relentlessly. His mind had also been a little too preoccupied with the broader scale of the words she'd spoken, like the impending war, to figure out why she was telling them such in things in response to the question 'who are you?'

She obviously wasn't entirely human, not with those glowing specks on her skin nor her ability to… _summon_ light, or whatever it was that she'd done earlier. And, as Erza had pointed out, it didn't seem like she'd eaten much of anything since she'd boarded their ship, which further testified of her inhuman existence.

The ferocity in Gray's tone seemed to have set her off, and her gaze snapped to the mechanic, her voice suddenly laced with spite and her eyes filled with just as much intensity as she firmly implored, "I _will not_ tell how I came to be in the Alliance's hands, but you should know that they would _never_ risk performing such experiments on their own people. I can promise you that I am _not_ on their side."

Silence found them again for a few moments. Needless to say, each of the three-member crew were taken aback by her sudden shift in her behavior, none of them having been prepared for her to turn defensive with such ferocity like she had.

Erza shifted on her feet once more, her mind obviously wandering down a slightly different path than the rest as she hastily questioned, "Jellal helped you get out, didn't he? Why?"

"Because they came too close to success. I was…I _am_ the closest thing they had to what they'd envisioned, but Jellal got me out of there before they could figure out what it was that made me different from the others; why they'd succeeded with me and no one else. It's highly unlikely that they'll be able to replicate the process now that I'm out of their reach."

The blonde bit her bottom lip, the fire gone from her eyes and giving way to something akin to remorse, her mind obviously lost in painful memories, "Jellal…he told me not to tell you who-" she dropped her gaze to the floor once more, sounding ashamed as she quietly breathed out, "…or rather _what_ I am. I've already told you more than what he advised me to if you were to hassle me and worse came to worse. But…" her eyes slid to Natsu, "…when I saw you get hurt…I couldn't just stand idly by. I had to do _something._ Kindness is the very essence of my people's existence, and I couldn't stop myself."

Natsu stared back at her silently as, for the first time since she'd saved him in the greenhouse, she maintained eye contact.

No matter how astonishing and implausible it all seemed, he found himself believing in her every word despite himself, the softness in her expression nothing but genuine and sincere.

* * *

The second they were out in the hallway, Gray whipped around to face his crewmates, his arms folding firmly over his chest and his voice as cold as it had been when he'd spoken to the girl, "We need to turn her in to the council. Those experiments they did on her are beyond anything we ever imagined the Alliance was capable of. If they're building an army of soldiers just like her, then we can't keep it a secret."

Natsu immediately shook his head, "If we turn her in to the council, they'll treat her just the same as the Alliance did. She'll go back to being nothing more than a test subject, and-"

"This isn't about her quality of life," the mechanic spat, his features cinched in anger. "It's about what she is and what it means for the rest of us."

"Who's to say that the council won't try to replicate all of the things that've been done to her on their own soldiers? You know just as well as I do that that kind of knowledge in the hands of the council would be just as deadly as it is in the hands of Alliance." Natsu didn't hesitate to take a step closer to his rival to face him more head-on, the rigidness of his features mirroring that of Gray's own as he fumed, "This galaxy can't handle another war, and giving her to the council gives them all the more reason to launch one. Besides, she said she holds no loyalty to the Alliance, and if everything that she said is true, she has every right to hate them just as much as you do."

Natsu _almost_ regretted the words the second the other boy's features shifted and he remembered all of what he'd been told Gray had endured before the mechanic had been recruited by the council, of how he'd suffered.

"I have _more_ reason than most to hate them," Gray hissed back, the unparalleled hate and loathing in his expression fueled by the anguish of his past. "I _suffered_ because of them. We _all_ did. The sight of their symbol isn't one I can tolerate so easily."

And just like that, Natsu got over that small smidgeon of regret that'd tickled his chest when his anger had got the better of him and he'd dared to undermine the severity of what Gray had been through and his hate for the Alliance because of it. Of course he knew that Gray had suffered, but surely the girl had, too, and _tremendously_ at that. She'd been experimented on, her body altered unnaturally. And it didn't seem as if she'd been experimented on voluntarily with the way her voice had filled with spite and loathing as she'd described what the Alliance was aiming for. So, as far as Natsu could tell, he'd been right. The girl more than likely had just as much reason to hate the Alliance as Gray did.

And if the symbol on the back of her shirt was the main problem for Gray, then he'd long since thought of an easy solution.

"Then we'll just give her a new shirt and call it good. Alright, asshole?" he spat, pulling back as he let himself relax a fraction so that his tone was more bothered sounding and less charged. "Don't forget, she saved my life. _And yours_ , for that matter. If she hadn't taken that thing down, it probably would've killed us all."

Gray wasn't one to give up so easily, especially against Natsu, "You heard what she said. She's not telling us everything that she knows. She's purposefully keeping secrets and we can't afford to have someone like that on our ship!"

"Whether or not she stays on this ship isn't your decision to make."

"It's not yours either!"

Simultaneously, their gazes shot to the one person who _did_ have the authority to make such a decision, the one who held the deciding vote in their crew of three.

Erza had been silent the entire time they'd bickered, which was more than unusual. Normally, she'd put an end to their fights when they'd only just begun, but this time was different. She'd simply turned her gaze to the floor and silently leaned back against a nearby wall, her lips pressed tightly together in a thin line and her eyebrows cinched together slightly as she lost herself in thought.

But it seemed that she hadn't tuned out their quarrel entirely, her gaze lifting from the floor to meet theirs the second they went quiet and turned to her.

She pushed herself away from the wall with a heavy sigh, her gaze firmly settling on Gray to let him know that there would be no argument, "My opinion on her hasn't changed since she boarded the ship. If Jellal trusts her and was willing to help her, then I see no reason why we should feel differently."

Gray clenched his jaw, holding firm for a few moments before he irritably huffed, "Fine. Have it your way." He spun on his heel and charged off without another word, the sound of his sharp footfalls on the metal paneling echoing after him.

Natsu stared after the mechanic with his own expression tainted with contention, his lips quirked slightly in annoyance as he folded his arms over his chest. Of course they fought all the time, but this time had been different, and they'd had only a few fights like this before. Gray was genuinely ticked off instead of just annoyed, but like always, Natsu still saw no reason to apologize and make amends.

If Gray wanted to be an asshole, then he would get the treatment assholes deserved.

Erza didn't let the pilot fester in his resentment for long, letting out another heavy sigh as she turned on her heel to head off, too, throwing a few commands over her shoulder before she was out of earshot, "Find her some new clothes, and let her go. She's probably had enough of being held in a cage."

* * *

The blonde's gaze followed Natsu's every move as he tapped at the console on the wall next to the chamber that served as her cell, her eyes going wide as the glass plane keeping her contained sunk into the floor.

"You're letting me out?" she breathed hesitantly, her arms slowly uncurling from around her knees and her hands pressing against the floor at her sides as if in preparation to push herself to her feet.

Natsu huffed out a breath, shrugging his shoulders and quirking a brow, "Well…is there a reason we shouldn't?"

She stood slowly as if she still thought he might lock her in again, her focus continually jumping between him and the floor, "That's…that's not what I meant. I just…you barely know me."

"You could've let that thing kill me earlier. But you didn't," he started earnestly. "You saved my life. That's enough of a reason for me to believe that you won't try to do anything to us."

The girl wrapped her arms around her waist, her tongue darting across her lips before she muttered, "And…the others…do they feel the same way?"

Natsu grumbled to himself for a moment, easily recalling how Gray had shot her and been less than kind to her during their conversation earlier.

When he turned back to the girl, though, he forced all traces of annoyance from his face in order to reassure her that she was more than welcome aboard their ship, at least by two of its crew members, "We took a vote, and the majority rule was to set you free. That means no one has any right to give you any crap while you're here."

He stepped aside and out of her way, gesturing with his arm towards the door of the med bay, "You're free to go back to your room. I put some of our old clothes in there for you, too. We'll probably stop at a station soon, and you can get some clothes that actually fit you, but what we've got should be good for now."

Her brows pinched together in confusion and she hesitated to pass him, still standing completely still.

"I…the symbol on your shirt…" he began to explain, internally abashed at his lack of eloquence with words in this moment, "it sucks for all of us to have to look at it, but I bet it sucks even more when you're forced to wear it. We figured you'd appreciate a change of clothes."

"Oh…" she breathed out, giving him a soft nod of her head, "…thank you."

Natsu returned the gesture and his lips curved in a small grin, his eyes trailing after her as she tentatively strode past him and towards the door, her arms still wrapped tightly around her middle and her shoulders hunched in unease as she avoided making eye contact.

Before he could stop himself, words were tumbling from his lips, his sudden call slowly bringing her steps to a halt, her back still facing him as she listened in silence.

"And…you know…you don't have stay in your room all the time. Even if you don't have to eat food like we do, you could join us for a meal every now and then. At least to just to talk to us…or something. We don't how long you're gonna be here, but…it's gotta be boring and lonely just being on your own all the time."

For a second, he thought that she might just leave in silence without acknowledging a word he'd said, but after a few moments, she slowly turned around, the tension in her frame easing a fraction as her eyes trailed up to his. The corners of her lips lifted in a soft smile, "I will. Thank you."

She made to turn around again, but she stopped once more when the pilot suddenly remembered an important detail, a hapless grin weaving across his features, "Oh, I'm Natsu by the way."

The girl turned back to face him fully, her smile growing a small fraction, "I…I'm Lucy."

For a girl as extraordinary and breathtaking as she was, the name was rather simple, but Natsu thought that it suited her well, both with her literal luminance and the gentle nature of her conduct.

He quickly cleared his throat, taking it upon himself to make up for what should've been done when they'd first met, a bright smile flashing to life on his features, "Well, Lucy…Welcome aboard."

* * *

 **AN**

 **AAAHHH my goal was to have this up by Saturday, but then on Friday, my brother was like "Lord of the Rings extended edition marathon?!" And I can't refuse one of those, sooooo...**

 **But anyways, we got a few answers about what's up with Lucy, and there's still more to come, some of which will be in the next chapter. I'll explain how she still functions when she doesn't eat and sleep much, and we'll get some things clarified regarding what went on during the experiments she went through. We'll also begin to figure out how her 'light abilities' or whatever you might call them work, and I'll start to explain some of what's happening between the council and the alliance (I wrote a whole history for this universe, so be prepared). Your questions about the ship and its size and facilities will be answered somewhat, too :)**

 **Aaaaannnnddd we'll get to learn a bit more about our characters as Lucy begins to spend time with the crew, which is what I'm mostly excited about. I've kind of hinted at it already, but I've rewritten each of their pasts in this fic, so I'm looking forward to getting to that. Also, if you couldn't tell already, I'm making the development of the friendship and the gaining of trust between Gray and Lucy a little subplot since they're my brotp and I couldn't resist once I came up with the idea after deciding on Gray's backstory. Erza and Lucy will also be getting a significant amount of time together since I felt that in the original series, out of the main four that we start with, they're the two that get the fewest amount of really deep, meaningful scenes together.**

 **Also, since a few of you have brought it up, both in PMs and reviews, I _am_ reading Eden's Zero as its coming out, but I'm trying my best not to think about it as I write since I don't want to steal ideas. Its always a good way to get me in the sci-fi mood, though :)**

 **And _one last_ response to a review: I was 1000% going for a Firefly vibe. My dad raised me on all of the Stargate series (Atlantis is my fave), so it was only natural that I should love Firefly, too. **

**I might have a oneshot coming out in the next little bit, too, so if you could all give that a read when it comes, it'd be much appreciated ;)**

 **With all that said, thank you so much for reading! And thank you so much to those who favorited, followed, and reviewed!**


	4. Chapter 4

Erza's hands paused where they were working in the piles of dirt, her head shifting to the side slightly so she could see the open blast doors in her peripherals.

She was being watched. She could feel it.

And she knew exactly who it was, too.

For someone who had somehow managed to spend a month aboard their ship without being seen save for a handful of times, the girl Jellal had left with them sure sucked at spying.

Erza took a deep breath, speaking outwards to let her shadow know that she was aware of her presence.

"You know," the corners of her lips tugged upwards in soft grin when there was a light, barely audible gasp, "you don't have to sneak around all of the time." She twisted her upper body around to face the doors fully the best she could while kneeling on the floor, turning just in time to see a head of blonde hair shyly peeking past the doorframe.

Erza continued smiling softly, knowing that after all that this girl had been through, the only way to get through to her would be through warm kindness and trust, "We meant it when we said that you were more than welcome aboard our ship."

"I…I'm sorry," the blonde tentatively started, her frame carrying the same hesitance as her tone as she slowly peeled herself away from the doorframe and stepped through the doors to the greenhouse. One of her hands crossed over her waist to grasp her opposite elbow, her focus rarely leaving the floor and her bottom lip tucked nervously between her teeth, "I didn't mean to seem like I was spying or anything…It just…still feels a bit strange…being allowed to wander around free…"

Erza's eyes dropped beneath the blonde's hips as the girl's free hand fiddled with the hem of her white shirt, which, the redhead noted with a soft laugh, might be considered more of a dress with the way it hung long and loosely on her small frame. It seemed she'd taken them up on the offer of wearing some of their old clothes, and the shirt she was in now had probably belonged to one of the boys at some point. The tear in the right shoulder served as reason for why the shirt had met its fate of being tossed, but the blonde didn't seem to mind the way the rip made the sleeve hang off one of her shoulders, matching the shirt with a pair of gray leggings.

Erza recognized the lower half of the outfit as something she'd donated to the girl from her own wardrobe, and the way the leggings gathered in bunches at her ankles, plus the state of her shirt, now confirmed the suspicions the redhead had had earlier. The girl's small stature definitely served as a problem when it came to providing her with clothing, and they'd have to see what they could find for her the next time they stopped at a station, which would be soon considering they needed materials to repair the damage done to the engine room.

But those were concerns to be considered at a later time, her thoughts shifting elsewhere when her gaze continued past the bunches at the girl's ankles.

Her brows furrowed when she saw that the blonde was barefoot. Why she'd chosen not to wear the boots she'd arrived in, Erza couldn't tell, but walking around their ship, with its metal-flooring more than likely uncomfortably cold, barefoot certainly couldn't be pleasant.

"That thing…"

The girl's voice pulled Erza out of her thoughts, and she looked up to find the blonde with her eyebrows furrowed as she surveyed the damage, her features grimly scrunched.

"…It really made a mess, didn't it?"

"Yeah," Erza huffed, her eyes momentarily dropping back to where she'd been working before she'd called the blonde out. Plants and dirt were strewn across the metal ground, their planters warped and torn. It was a shame to see that so little had survived the creature's rampage, and though gardening had never been her forte, Erza had resolved to steadfastly care for what was left.

"And…where did its body go?"

"We dragged it to one of the cargo holds on the lower level. We've never seen a species like that; one that can endure exposure to space and one so intelligent. As soon as we make a report of the damage done to our ship so we can get the supplies we need for repairs, the council will want to see it." Erza lifted her focus back to the girl, her lips quirking in a bitter half-smile, "Having its corpse in my way while I'm trying to repair the damage would be pretty annoying. Plus, it looked super gross."

The corners of the girl's lips lifted a fraction, not quite achieving a smile, but finally shifting from the pensive frown she'd worn since she'd first stepped foot into the wrecked greenhouse. She took an eager step forward, her eyes meeting Erza's and staying connected for the first time during their conversation, "I can help, if you'll let me…" As her voice faded out, she sunk back into herself a little, as if she thought she'd been too straightforward with her last phrase, her next words a lot quieter as her gaze abashedly returned to the floor, "…with cleaning up, I mean."

Erza caught herself before she almost instinctively declined the offer by telling the girl that she'd already done enough to help out by killing the thing that had made the mess. Allowing her to help and working with her would provide a gateway towards getting to interact with her more, and therefore it meant she would have a chance at earning her trust and more knowledge of what she wanted to know about this girl and her past, namely her ties to Jellal.

She gave the girl a soft nod and another grin, and she was about to steer her in the direction of the spare pair of gloves. But before she could, the blonde had already dropped to her knees, scooping up handfuls of dirt with her bare hands and shoveling it back into the still-intact planters, being extra careful of the plants that had remained unharmed.

It took a lot for Erza to peel her eyes away from the blonde, and even when she managed to force her hands to resume their work, her focus never lingered on her task for long, her gaze wandering back to the girl every now and then.

The blonde's hands had quickly become covered with dirt, as had her knees, but she seemed completely unbothered by any of it, and Erza would even go as far as saying that she seemed to be a bit at peace as she worked, her features far lighter than the redhead had seen them before.

There was definitely more to this girl than just what the Alliance had turned her into. She was a weapon, sure, and a deadly one at that, but, now Erza could clearly see what Natsu had been getting at during his argument with Gray the day before.

The blonde was still just a teen, and she hadn't asked to be turned into what she was, so she deserved no form of ill treatment because of it.

Although she didn't find the quiet unpleasant, the redhead decided to break the silence after a few minutes, smiling softly as she started her long-overdue introduction, "I'm Erza, by the way."

"Lucy," the blonde grinned back, smiling genuinely and fully for Erza for the first time.

"Lucy…" the weapons expert repeated to herself with a nod, her voice losing a fraction of its amity and gaining a bit hesitance as she tentatively continued, "…can I ask you something? About what…what _they_ did to you…"

The blonde's hands slowed to a halt, her lips slowly pressing into a grim line. It took her only a moment to regain her composure, her brows furrowed a small fraction, but her features genuinely lined with resilience and honesty as she turned to look the redhead straight-on, "I don't want any of you to feel like you can't trust me. And the Alliance is your enemy, so…ask me anything you'd like about them. I'll answer honestly."

To Erza, it seemed like those words were a hefty promise for Lucy to make, and it wasn't hard for her to imagine why. What she'd endured had to have been brutal, and recalling the memories of those days was surely no more pleasant than living through them had been.

But the redhead didn't plan on delving too deep, at least no deeper than she thought the girl could manage, so she started with her questions before she could let herself hesitate any further, "How…how do you still function? The fact that you don't eat doesn't make sense biologically."

A light breath slipped through Lucy's lips, almost as if she was relieved to have been asked such a question rather than one that probed at something more painful to speak of. A little smile spread across her lips as she rested one of her forearms atop the edge of the planter she'd been shoveling dirt into, her chin coming to rest on the back of that hand while the other reached forward to gently catch the leaf of a surviving plant between her index and middle fingers, "I'm just like this little guy, I guess. I need a little water and a few nutrients every now and then…but what really makes me thrive is light."

Erza's head tilted to the side unconsciously in confusion, her words escaping slowly and unsurely, "So…you…you photosynthesize?"

"Yeah…I suppose it's something like that," the blonde tilted her head so that her cheek rested on the back of her palm instead of her chin, her face now tilted so that she was looking at the redhead. "Since I'm not fully matured, I still have to eat every now and then to get the nutrients I need, and I do still have to drink just as much as any other human. But in terms of functioning…I live solely on the energy of light."

A familiar feeling of disbelief had settled over Erza, the jumbled state of her mind near parallel to what it had been like yesterday when she had first learned of what the blonde was. Though, just like yesterday, too, there was nothing to refute Lucy's words and prove them false.

As her mind slowly worked to process the information, more words bluntly came pouring from her mouth in confusion, "But…so…you _do_ eat?"

"When I was with the alliance, they would just give me injections or pills so that my body had the nutrients it needed," her voice faded and she smiled bitterly to herself, "…I haven't tasted food in years."

The sadness of that phrase weighed heavy on Erza's mind. It came as no surprise to her that she found herself pitying the blonde, and definitely not for the first time.

Not having to eat would come as an aid to many, namely those who were unfortunate enough to be unable to afford food and starved on the daily. But having to eat to survive certainly wasn't a bad thing, either, and food came as a pleasure to many, including Natsu.

To be forcefully deprived of something which was so engrained into the renewal of her existence, even if she didn't necessarily need it, must've been horrid.

"Wow."

Lucy jolted and Erza whirled around at the sudden exclamation, finding a content-looking Natsu strolling into the room with a piece of his favorite spicy urug jerky clasped between his teeth.

He spoke around the snack as he did a calm look over of the damage, "This place is totally trashed. Didn't really notice before with that sword in my shoulder and my blood spilling all over the place."

Erza rolled her eyes at his complete lack of the ability to judge an atmosphere, but she figured there was no harm done when she looked to find that Lucy was staring at the pilot with wide eyes and furrowed brows, seemingly taken off guard by how easily he could joke about his wounds.

"Speaking of swords and things getting trashed," the pinkette's gaze slowly slid to the blonde, "how did you know how to take that thing down, Lucy?"

Natsu had never really been the best at being subtle and tactful, but Erza supposed she couldn't really blame him this time since she was desperate to find out all she could about Lucy, too.

"I'm not the only thing the Alliance cooked up in theirs labs," the blonde responded flatly, her chin returning to its perch on the back of her hand. "Fighting those things was considered a test for both me and them, so the Alliance could see what they needed to improve." A grin flashed across her features for the briefest of moments, "Guess they never got rid of their biggest weakness, though…They can't stand light. That's why it took out your power systems. They're creatures bred to thrive in the cold and dark."

Erza shook her head, letting out a heavy sigh, "These experiments and advancements…they're beyond anything we'd ever imagined."

"That's a fault on your side then," Lucy's voice was somewhat cold, and the teen that had peacefully begun repairing that which had been destroyed was suddenly gone, replaced by a girl who'd been hardened by all that she'd endured, "because to me, everything that's happened makes perfect sense."

Her gaze momentarily shifted to the other two as she swallowed heavily, but her focus was quickly back to the tiny plant before her as she bitterly explained, "I'm sure you know it all as well as I do…The Alliance's strength has always resided in their technology, and during the war, they were nearly unstoppable through their use of AI and android soldiers. After the war, AI and androids were banned in the treaty, and the council's new weaponized EMPs made their use impossible and pointless even if the Alliance went against that ban. If you think about it, they had no other choice but to make advancements in the way they did."

Natsu and Erza were completely silent, all traces of lightheartedness gone from the pilot's features as he listened to the blonde. The war she spoke of was still far from being irrelevant as it had just ended no less than eight years ago, and it was the very reason for the tension that gripped the galaxy at present.

"The loss of AI and androids meant that more people had to fight, and millions were slaughtered. A peace treaty was signed, but peace was never truly achieved. The Alliance started working to gain the upper hand again almost immediately, and in order to avoid the same defeat the second time around, they sought to improve their soldiers in ways that are unspeakable."

Her voice cut out for a moment, her brows cinching together and her eyes becoming glassy. When she spoke next, her voice had lost nearly all of its spite, her tone overflowing with remorse instead, "And children…children don't go to war. They're the ones that got left behind…the ones that survived. Countless were taken by the Alliance…experimented on to be stronger than their predecessors; trained to be the next generation of soldiers."

Natsu's mouth had fallen open a fraction at her tale, his mind reeling over the wretchedness of it all; how the Alliance was treating its own people.

Yesterday, Lucy had gotten defensive about telling them why she'd been taken and experimented on, and if the grievous connotation of her words was anything to go by, she had every right to be. He had a feeling that there was far more to her capture than what she'd just described, but, at least, he now had somewhat of a clue as to how she'd become the subject of the Alliance's sick practices.

A knowing, bitter grin worked its way onto her lips as she quickly swiped at the corners of her eyes, her gaze shifting to the pilot and redhead, "You don't have to pity me. You two…you're here for the very same reason, aren't you?"

Neither Natsu nor Erza said a word, both of them staring back at her blankly in heavy silence.

"I just…" Lucy started again quietly, growing hesitant under their lack of response, "I may not know much about space travel, but its seems unusual for a ship this advanced and this big to be run by only a crew of three, and a crew that's only barely old enough to be considered adults if my guesses about your ages are right. I could only assume that the council did the same…stealing you from your homes to train you and make you fight for a cause that you weren't old enough to understand."

As if to divert the subject or avoid hearing their response altogether, Lucy's hands resumed their work in the dirt, "I…I'm sorry. It's not my right to pry."

After a few moments, Erza continued with their task as well.

Not knowing whether to try and help or just simply leave, Natsu stood in place as his gaze fell downward, the thoughts in his head growing muddled and spiteful as he realized that although the word 'steal' wasn't quite right, Lucy's thinking wasn't far from being correct; that although his choice to become a pilot had been entirely his own, the council _was_ using him for their own intents and purposes. The only reason he affiliated himself with them was because they gave him the means to explore the galaxy and enabled him to do what he'd always wanted. Without their assistance, he'd never have a chance at getting his hands on a spacecraft, and he'd probably still be on the streets that they had first recruited him off of.

But his life of exploring the galaxy was definitely lacking a certain aspect of freedom that he desired: the freedom to go where he wanted when he wanted. The council chose their destinations for them, and they received their mission's in the council's time, not of their own accord.

Their livelihood served as proof of their near blind allegiance to the council as they aided them in a cause that Natsu had never understood, a cause that he _still_ didn't understand. With the ban of AI and androids, the problem that gave the war its cause had been solved, albeit rather catastrophically. But, nevertheless, it didn't matter that the war was over. That was just the way things were. Conflict always began with an issue, whether it was a difference of opinion or an argument. But by the time it turned into a full-blown war, the issue no longer mattered, because it was about one thing and one thing only: how much each side hated the other.

* * *

"You accepted another mission?!"

"Yep."

"Our engine room was torn to shit! I only just barely managed to restore power, and you expect us to be able to handle a mission?!"

Natsu crinkled his nose and pursed his lips in annoyance as his raven haired crewmate continued to trail him on his way to the bridge, wondering why he'd even bothered telling Gray about their newest job in the first place. He really hadn't expected the mechanic to charge out after him, but now, he figured it'd been idiotic of him to think that Gray would take the news lightly and without complaint. The engine room was practically Gray's child, and he wouldn't be content with doing anything other than repairs until his baby was all fixed and sparkling like new.

"The planet's close," Natsu shrugged, still staring straight ahead as he walked forward, seemingly unbothered by the cold glares he was receiving from the boy at his flank. "We won't even have to jump to light speed. Besides, it's not like we'll have to fight anyone or anything. It's just a diplomacy mission."

"They gave us a _diplomacy_ mission?" Gray spat, his voice reaching new levels of exasperation. "Why does the council still think we're good with diplomacy? Do they not remember that one time we almost started a war with those natives on Haize?"

Natsu's lips curled in distate as he recalled the event, phantom traces of anger seeping into his veins, "It wasn't my fault. Their leader totally deserved the kick in the dick. I feel no regret."

Gray only rolled his eyes and let out a heavy sigh, "So what made you and Erza think it was a good idea to accept this one? 'Cause the last time I checked, you're still shit at controlling yourself. Who's to say your _magnificent_ diplomacy skills will work this time?"

Natsu slammed to a halt, standing still for a moment before whipping around to face his crewmate. God, he wanted to sock Gray in the face, but he figured doing so would only serve as proof to the mechanic's previous statement about his lack of self-control.

So instead, he poured all of his spite into his voice as he explained, "Erza's gonna do all the talking this time. I'm just taking her down in the jumper. And, even better, the planet's known for its deep-sea mining, so they'll have plenty of supplies to give us for repairs and then we'll go happily on our way."

"And what makes you think that they'll just willingly give us the stuff we need when we don't have near the amount of jewel that it'll take to buy it?" Gray bit back.

"Because we're giving them an offer they can't refuse."

Both Natsu's and Gray's heads turned at the new voice, finding Erza near the end of the hallway they'd been charging down.

The mechanic quirked a brow, silently pressing her to explain her words.

"The planet's called Ameri," she started. "It's completely covered in water, but the land beneath the water is rich with natural resources. The planet was taken over by the Alliance during the war and its people were exploited for their deep-sea mining capabilities. And, it was one of the first places they abandoned when they lost. The planet and its people were thrown into turmoil and poverty after they were abandoned, and now only one colony of natives remains. The council received a distress transmission a few days ago. They're suffering without the resources to survive, so the council's offering them aid."

Gray tsked in irritation, "And let me guess, the council's willing to give their aid only if the colony gives them access to their resources?"

Erza was silent, figuring that providing an answer to that question wasn't necessary. They all already knew the answer anyways.

The brief moment of quiet was broken as Gray let out a heavy sigh, "So…you guys are leaving me all alone with the freak?"

"Don't call her that," Natsu spat, bristling with the need pound the mechanic's jaw into the floor once more.

The raven haired boy scoffed at the twin looks of fury from his crewmates, crossing his arms over his chest as he fell back to lean against a nearby wall, "What? You guys are all buddy-buddy with her now?"

"You say that like it's a bad thing," the pilot ground out.

"It is," Gray hissed. "She belongs to the enemy."

"She doesn't ' _belong_ ' to anyone but herself," it was Erza's turn to put up a defense. "And maybe if you talked to her for even just five seconds, you'd realize that she's actually a nice girl."

Gray's lips quirked in a half-sneer as he sunk further into the wall, his gaze shooting off the side, "I can't trust her when I know she's keeping secrets."

"We're _all_ keeping secrets," Natsu growled, not giving himself the room to regret the words by storming away the second they'd slipped through his lips. The short phrase was loaded, and although he was solemn that Erza had been there to hear it, he felt no remorse for dumping it on Gray.

He really didn't know much about where his crewmates had come from before they'd met while training under the council, and he had only whispered but a few words to them about his own past. All they really knew was that they each had a reason to hate the Alliance, and that that was how they'd ended up where they were now.

They were a crew, but that title really meant nothing beyond their function as a work unit. They knew each other from working and training together, but their bond was superficial; their relationships far from running deep. If they were to break apart their little band of misfits, they could all probably contently go on their way without feeling too much regret over what had just ended, and the days they'd spent together would mean little to nothing.

Their lack of knowledge about each other, and therefore their lack of genuine care and interest for one another, was something that bugged Natsu constantly because he'd always felt like they had the potential to be so much _more,_ and he knew it got on Erza's and Gray's nerves as well. But none of them were willing to take the plunge and divulge everything about themselves to better their understanding of one another; to give their relationship the little push it needed to actually _mean_ something.

And Natsu knew well that no much how much he craved for contact, for friendships that would leave a lasting impression, there were some things that were better left unsaid.

* * *

Lucy's steps were lighter than they had been in years as she made her way back through the halls of the ship towards her room. Her hands were dirtied with the work she'd done, but she couldn't have been happier about it. The Alliance had always kept everything spotless and in pristine condition, including their test subjects, and the feeling of grit between her fingertips and beneath her feet had almost become foreign.

But working in the ship's greenhouse had given her that feeling again, and replanting and caring for what had nearly been destroyed restored within her a feeling of peace. It had reminded her of home and of happier times; of the faces of those whom she loved and would never see again.

The light smile on her lips was snuffed out when she rounded the corner into the hallway that housed her room, a sharp gasp tearing from her mouth as she collided with something moving in the opposite direction.

Instinct kicked in and she nearly called forth light into her palms, but she stopped short when her focus snapped upwards and she was greeted by a head of wild salmon hair.

Natsu let out a heavy breath before he relaxed and chuckled lightly, "Didn't hear you coming."

The blonde's lips parted to respond, but the words got in her throat and she curled into herself when his gaze traveled down to her dirty, bare feet, the furrowing of his brows making his thoughts apparent. She unconsciously shifted one of her feet inwards, an unwelcome feeling of embarrassment crawling through her chest.

She'd been careless and let herself get carried away, and now, he thought her strange because of it.

If she was going to fit in and truly be accepted by those aboard this ship, then she couldn't let herself get caught up in her newfound freedom. She was out of the Alliance's controlling grip, yes, but she wasn't on her own and free to do as she wished. As long as she was aboard a ship run by strangers, there were still rules to be followed and precautions to be taken.

Natsu finally seemed to snap out of whatever daze he'd been in, his gaze shooting back up to her face as he scratched at the back of his head sheepishly, "Uh…I better get going. See ya around."

He slipped past her and disappeared around a bend before she could utter a single word, his head ducked as if to avoid her gaze all the while.

Lucy stood still for a moment after he was gone, working her bottom lip between her teeth and festering in her self-consciousness before she worked up the courage to cross the last span of hallway that rested between her and her room.

The doors slid shut behind her, and she made for her bathroom to wash away the dirt clinging to her skin. The feeling of soil was one she welcomed, but she figured her hosts wouldn't appreciate the dirty trail she left behind on everything she touched.

A foreign shape in her peripherals had her steps slowing to a halt, her gaze slowly turning to find what it was that rested atop the white sheets of her carefully made bed.

A small, rectangle shape that was wrapped in thin, brown paper was propped up against one of her pillows, a slip of white paper barely peeking out from behind the tiny parcel.

As she came closer, Lucy's fingers went for the paper first, seeking an explanation for what had found its way into her room.

The words of the note were written in a sloppy scrawl, one that she had to work over slowly to comprehend. When teaching her English during her captivity, Jellal had had the mind to teach her how to read the language as well. Speaking the language came easy and naturally, but still, even the neatest of scripts was sometimes hard for her mind to decipher.

She couldn't help the smile that slipped onto her lips as she worked over the message, the thought dawning her that her bare feet might not have been the only thing making Natsu act the way he had when he'd bumped into her in the hallway before.

' _Figured the first thing you ate should be something good. You can take whatever else you want from the dining hall.'_

How he'd learned about her separation from food, whether it had been from Erza or if he had simply overheard her earlier, didn't even cross her mind as her hands rushed to tear the wrapping from the small rectangle, a breathy laugh slipping from her lips when his gift was revealed to her gaze.

It was a bar of chocolate, a treat that was foreign to her home but one that she'd had the delight of tasting through traders that visited her planet. It'd never been her favorite, but she had still indulged in its sweetness too often to not be fond of it.

Fearful of what would happen if she rushed to get her first taste of food in nearly four years, she slipped the corner of the bar past her lips slowly, tears involuntarily springing to her eyes as the treat touched her tongue.

The taste was one she hadn't thought she would miss so dearly, and the feeling was one of pure bliss.

* * *

 **AN**

 **Howdy! I'm psyched, because this is kind of our last set-up chapter! The next officially marks the start of our first arc, with Lucy and Gray staying on the ship as Natsu and Erza go to Ameri, a water planet...where we'll meet a new character who may or may not be related to water (aren't I the best at being subtle?) But yeah, I'm super psyched for stuff to finally start happening instead of just having information dumps. And as you can see, I'm setting up for some development of relationships, not only between Lucy and the crew, but the crew themselves. We'll keep learning a bit about their backstories as we go, and we'll learn why they are the way they are!**

 **Anways, thanks for reading, and I hope to hear your thoughts and see you next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

A heavy breath slipped through Natsu's lips as he drew back after securing the last strap over the top of a metal crate of food, the pilot's gaze shooting up to Erza to find a look similar to how he felt on her face as she stared down at the small stack of crates in displeasure.

It wasn't a lot, but it would have to do for now because it was all they had to offer. The crates of food had come from their ship's own supply since they hadn't had the time, nor the capability considering the state of their engine room, to stop off at a station and collect new supplies. But, despite his love of food, Natsu wasn't too bitter about parting ways with it. They'd kept enough to sustain themselves until they were able to make their way to a station and replenish their stock, which wouldn't be more than a couple of days once their engine room was repaired using the supplies they would receive from Ameri.

Though, that did depend on the colony accepting their deal.

"What are you doing?"

Natsu's gaze whipped over his shoulder to find the source of the new, soft voice, scolding himself as soon as he caught sight of who was there because he figured that by now, he really shouldn't have been all that surprised. It seemed, whether it was intentional or not, Lucy hadn't gotten out of her habit of sneaking around.

The blonde was quietly standing right beside the entrance to the jumper, her arms crossed over her chest and her head slightly ducked as if she was unsure of herself.

It seemed that she'd finally figured out how the elevator in the middle of their ship worked since this was the first time Natsu had seen her on the lower level. Not that there was really any reason for her to have ever been on the lower level anyways, though. Apart from the engine room and the hanger that was just big enough for the jumper, there wasn't much down there other than various cargo holds and other storage spaces. Everything that was interesting and worthwhile was on the upper level, like the bridge, living quarters, training and weapon room, green house, and dining hall.

"The council gave us another mission," Natsu smiled warmly in her direction before glancing back at the stack of crates. "We're just gonna help some people out; give them some supplies if they're willing to accept them." He chose to leave out the bit about what the people of Ameri would have to agree to in order to have access to those supplies, figuring that not knowing that piece of knowledge would do Lucy no harm.

"We should be back later tonight, given that everything goes well," Erza finished explaining. Her pleasant demeanor faded as she turned to face the blonde fully, giving her a hard look, "If Gray gives you any trouble while we're gone, I want you to let me know."

The blonde's brows furrowed, her voice light as she repeated, "…Gray?"

Natsu quickly and choppily explained, "Our mechanic. Dark hair, droopy eyes." His voice dropped a bit lower as he ground out, "The asshole that shot you in the back."

"Oh…got it," she nodded and swallowed heavily as she looked back to the redhead, taking a deep breath before she tentatively pledged, "I…I will."

"Good," Erza nodded, a slight grin returning to her lips. She cast a quick look in Natsu's direction, "We better be off." She didn't give either of the other two a chance to converse with her further, spinning around and moving to seat herself in the co-pilot's chair at the front of the jumper.

The pilot moved to follow after her, but he turned back around when Lucy lightly called his name, his brows softly furrowed, "Yeah?"

"Thanks…" the blonde smiled gently, "…for the chocolate, I mean. It was sweet."

"No problem." He grinned brightly for a moment before he cleared his throat, his gaze dropping abashedly to the side, "But, uh…I might have to take back what I said about taking whatever you want from the dining hall." He gestured to the crates of food behind him, the ones he'd just loaded into the jumper, "We're gonna be a bit tight on food until we can stop off at another station after we get back."

"That's alright," her smile never faltered, though her tone did lose a bit of its cheerful lilt, "I don't necessarily _need_ to eat, so…"

"Oh…right," he slowly nodded once, the mention of what had been done to her, of how she'd been altered, leaving him unsure of how to respond. He quickly decided that it would be best for him to just end the conversation instead of riskily carrying it on, knowing that Erza was waiting on him anyways, "Well…see ya when we get back."

She took a step back, as if she knew that she'd be in the way, "Right. Bye."

He gave her a quick, subtle, two-fingered salute of farewell as he hit the button to lift the ramp now that the way was clear, the hunk of metal lifting from the floor to fold up and form the back wall of their small ship, sealing the inside off so that the craft was safe for space travel.

Natsu maneuvered around the stack of crates and back pair of chairs and plopped himself beside Erza in his rightful seat, the seat he'd earned through years of hard work and dedication: the pilot's chair.

As he secured the safety straps across his hips and chest, he could feel Erza's gaze on him without even having to look her way, a hint of smug curiosity in her voice as she questioned, "What was that about?"

"Nothing," he shrugged, his fingers working at various nobs and buttons on the console in front of him as he prepped the jumper for launch. The engines made nearly no sound as they came to life, and Natsu's hands found a familiar hold on the control wheel as he eased the ship up off the ground of the small hanger before tilting the yoke forward and guiding them through the transparent and fluid plane that separated the inside of their ship from the cold of space, "I just gave her some chocolate yesterday. Figured it'd be nice for her to taste something sweet after all these years."

The redhead quirked a brow, a hint of a smirk tugging at her lips as she turned her focus back to her side of the console now that she would need to help navigate him to the correct location on the planet, "Maybe you _do_ have a bit of tact and sense in you after all."

If anyone else had made such a jab, Natsu's fists probably would've went flying. But since Erza had been the one to deliver the indirect blow, he settled for grumpily pursing his lips and rolling his eyes as he gave the jumper an extra thrust of speed towards the planet below. He figured that settling for such a docile and uncharacteristic reaction was the best option when compared to the consequences he would face if he were ever to risk striking back against Erza.

He wasn't really in the mood to die today. It was only Tuesday, after all.

* * *

As the light in the corner of the room came to life without flickering for the first time in weeks, Gray let out a heavy sigh of relief, mentally whispering a silent, grateful prayer that the supposedly 'easy-fix' was finally over, ' _Thank God.'_

With the engine room reluctantly left in disrepair until Natsu and Erza returned, he'd busied himself with fixing all of the small little imperfections across the ship that his crewmates had been bothering him about for weeks, or even _months_ in a few cases. Little nuisances like the temperamental light structure in the training room and the glitchy screen on the wall in the dining hall were the only things that he had the capability of fixing at the moment, with their supplies as dwindled as they were.

But the complications that had once been deemed 'little nuisances' were giving him a major headache, though he supposed that the difficulty he was facing in repairing them was because he was on edge, and he had been ever since that alien-tentacle thing had attacked them.

The feeling of eyes on him certainly didn't help him feel at ease either.

Natsu and Erza had left by now, and they were probably already descending on the planet. That left only one other person aboard.

And, sure enough, when he glanced over his shoulder, the blonde girl was standing just beyond the doorway of the training room, her body angle making it evident that she'd paused in passing. One of her arms was crossed across her waist to grasp her opposite elbow, and her eyes widened when his gaze connected with hers.

"What?" he harshly hissed, "You got bored of having no one else to shadow?"

Figuring, or rather _hoping,_ he'd scared her off, he didn't give her any room to answer, gathering his tools and throwing them rather carelessly into his toolbox before standing and charging right past her, tearing off down the hallway towards the bridge to start on his next project.

His hopes were dashed when he heard the light patter of her feet on the metal floor echoing after the sharp slap of his own hurried pace, her presence chasing him as he charged towards the bridge. His lips twisted in distaste as he realized that he wouldn't be getting rid of her so easily, and that he hadn't been nearly as intimidating as he'd hoped.

He supposed he couldn't count out her personality either, despite how gentle and delicate she looked. From the looks of it, she had to be at least a few years younger than him and Natsu, leaving her somewhere in her mid-teens. Nevertheless, with the way she'd talked back to him when he'd been questioning her just two days earlier, he knew that this girl had some guts, no matter how tiny and fragile she seemed. Not to mention the fact that she'd been the one to kill the thing they'd somehow picked up from the wreck of that transport ship, and she'd done it quite easily, too, if Natsu's words were anything to go by.

She kept pace with him, though she still kept her distance, not following too closely behind him as she hurriedly blurted, "I didn't mean to make it seem like I was spying, I promise. I was just walking by and then I saw you and wondered what you were doing and-" She cut herself off when she seemed to realize that she was babbling, taking a deep breath before she carried on explaining herself at a much slower speed, "And…you're the only person I haven't really met yet. I thought we should introduce ourselves to each other and it seemed like it might be a good chance to do so since we're the only ones on board now."

"No need," he huffed, not bothering to look over his shoulder at her. "I already know your name, and you've probably already heard mine from Natsu and Erza." His lips curled in distaste as he added in an afterthought, "Anything Natsu told you about me is probably a lie."

Lucy followed after him as he entered the bridge, staying back near the open blast doors as he kneeled down beside the pilot's console and dropped his toolbox to the ground before riffling through it for his desired object.

"All he told me was that you're the ship's mechanic. And…" her voice grew a tad softer, "…and that you were the one who shot me."

His hands briefly paused in the midst of taking his tools out at that. Admittedly, in hindsight, he knew that it'd been a bit rash of him to just shoot her in the back that day. But, she _had_ been kneeling over a bloodied Natsu and clothed in the symbol of their enemy. Given those facts, she was just lucky, or rather they _both_ were lucky, that he'd had the mind to quickly shift his blaster to stun rather than leaving it lethal.

He was actually glad when the blonde kept talking, saving him from having to make a comment about that last phrase she'd muttered.

Still standing a short distance away, she leaned a bit to the left so that her eyes could follow his hands closely as he began dismantling the side of the console to reach his desired wires, "What are you doing now?"

It was obvious to Gray that she wasn't going to leave him alone no matter how cold he acted, so he grumpily obliged her curiosity, though his voice was still far from amiable, "Fixing Natsu's console. He's been pestering me about dead pixels in the corner of the display for ages."

It would make the mechanic a bit sad to see the small source of annoyance for the pilot go, but Gray felt like he might go insane just sitting around and waiting while the engine room was in shambles. The cluster of dead pixels was the last thing on the list of the many small repairs he'd built up, and after he'd fixed them, he wasn't sure what he would do to keep his sanity until Natsu and Erza returned.

Maybe he'd go to the training room and take his frustration out on some punching bags. Beating something up sounded like a wonderfully pleasant idea.

"So…Natsu's the pilot?" Lucy questioned curiously, her brows cinched and her hands clasped behind her back as she continued to lean over to watch him work. "I don't think I've ever seen him steering the ship. He's always just sitting around whenever he's in here."

By now, Gray was beginning to think that maybe the way to get to her to leave him alone was to answer all of her questions as quickly as possible. She couldn't have _too_ many, right?

"There's really no need for him to pilot the ship all the time. Especially when we're going at light speed," he begrudgingly grumbled, finally managing to remove the plating on the side of the console entirely and set it aside as he moved to work with the wires. "The autopilot does just fine with taking us from point A to point B when all we're doing is traveling around. But when we're in battle, with evasive maneuvers and all that…" he paused for a brief moment to huff out a heavy breath, "…that's when you'll really see him action. He's kind of insane."

He sat still for a moment more as he thought about Natsu in battle. Gray rarely spent time in the bridge during conflict since he needed to be in the engine room to counterattack the damage they took, but being able to communicate over their coms and being subject to the jolting and rolling of the ship left little of Natsu's battle tactics to the imagination. The idiot grew more impulsive and reckless than he usually was, which one might've thought would be a bad thing. But somehow, it all always miraculously turned out alright in the end, which really only meant that they'd lived, despite with a few more scrapes and bruises.

Or at least…it _had_ all turned out alright so far. They hadn't had any major mishaps yet, but who was to say what the future held in store for them.

Gray's hands went back to work, and Lucy tentatively took a step or two closer so that she could see where the sparks were coming from, "How do you know how to do this? I thought you were just a mechanic."

"Yes, I'm the ship's mechanic, but I grew up messing with tech, so I can do a hell of a lot more than just work with engines and reactors." He finally peeled his focus from the console to give her a look of irritation, his exasperation more than evident in his voice as he spat, "Is that good enough of an answer for you to leave me alone?"

She stared at him in blank silence for a moment before softly muttering, "Why do you hate me?"

Admittedly, the look on her face, the downright confusion and slightest trace of hurt in her eyes, made him feel a bit bad. But it wasn't enough to make him withdraw anything he'd said or done previous, so he let out another heavy sigh and turned his focus back to his work so that he had an excuse for refraining from making eye contact with her any longer. His voice was a smidge softer than it had been before, though still not entirely polite as he explained, "Look, I don't _hate_ you, but I'm not like Natsu and Erza. I can't just give my trust out to any random person who comes my way with a sob story about how much they hate the Alliance. My feelings towards Balam and anyone associated with them run deep; deeper than a stranger like you can break."

"But I've been here for a month, and I haven't done anything to hurt you," she calmly replied without a second of hesitation, clearly not one to allow herself to be trampled over without a fight. "Doesn't that at least warrant me the privilege to engage in pleasant conversation with you?"

"This conversation has been anything _but_ pleasant," he grumbled.

"There's no need for you to get so angry," the blonde retorted. She didn't seem at all put off by his attempts at dislodging her, simply and lightly shrugging, "I'm just curious."

"And I'm bitter and complicated," he spat back, giving her a wry smirk, "It's one of my charms."

Again, she pondered him in silence for a moment before calmly voicing her thoughts, "I don't think you know what the word 'charm' means. Or how to count, for that matter."

* * *

"Hey…what did one ocean say to the other?"

"If you make one more ocean related pun, I swear I'll murder you."

"…well someone's salty," Natsu grumbled out a heavy sigh, not at all pleased with how things were going thus far, all jokes aside. The only thing that had him feeling glad at the moment was the fact that Erza hadn't carried out her ocean-pun-induced threat.

They had just made the somewhat rough transition from flying through the air to submarining the jumper beneath the water, the pilot flicking on the lights at the front the spacecraft to guide their way through the dark depths.

The difficulty of steering a ship meant for space travel through water, with its density and pressure and currents and the like, was one thing that had him a bit irritated, but it wasn't the only thing sending annoyance and spite through his veins.

For the past few minutes, Erza had been busying herself with sending messages of their arrival and request for docking through their translation system before broadcasting them off to the settlement they were quickly approaching. She hadn't received a response yet, and Natsu was beginning to think that a mistake had been made.

If it weren't for the small splotch of lighter water they were heading towards, he probably would've begun to think that they'd been sent to the wrong location, because there wasn't a sign of life anywhere on the ocean floor. It was all sand, wrecked spacecraft, seaweed, sand, rocks, dark crevices, and even more sand.

He really hated how bland it all was, and still, no one was responding to Erza's messages, making his impatience get the best of him. He really didn't want to be here longer than he to be, the idea of more exciting missions and adventures making him all the more eager to get this _diplomacy_ mission, the worst and most boring type of mission there was, over with.

He was beginning to think they'd been misinformed about language these people spoke, and that _that_ was the reason why their coms were quiet as they approached. The council had said that these people seemed pretty desperate for help, after all, so he could think of no other reason for their silence other than a mishap in communication.

The light splotch was broadening and growing ever brighter the closer they got, and soon enough, a structure began to take shape amongst the sand and rocks of the ocean bottom. The murkiness and darkness of the water gave way to a massive compound of thick metal and the odd pane of glass every now and then, but no light shone within the structure itself, only from the lights that were scattered across the exterior at seemingly random intervals. Apart from the heavy and thick material it was composed off, the structure looked just like an ordinary warehouse, but given the knowledge that the people here were deep-sea miners, Natsu knew that the structure ran deep into the planet and was much more expansive than it seemed from the outside.

Natsu spoke hesitantly out of the corner of his mouth to the redhead at his left, "The council told 'em we were coming, right?"

Erza had no time to give him a response, the world beyond the jumper suddenly becoming not so silent the second the last word slipped through his lips. Something on the outside of the fortress finally began to move, the raucous sounds of metal mechanisms shifting dulled but still more than audible through the water with their magnitude.

A metal plane on the top of the compound had sunk out of its place along what had seemed like a single, smooth span of roofing, an awful grating noise sounding as the plane slid beneath the rest of the roof and out of their sight.

' _It's about goddamn time,'_ Natsu thought, already pulling the control wheel upwards so he could steer their ship into the open space.

But when the metal plane had fully withdrawn, it wasn't the clear, open space of a docking area that greeted them, but the ascending tip of lengthy, metal barrel.

A sharp gasp slipped through Erza's lips when she realized what was coming, her eyes wide as the barrel swiveled to point in their direction, "GET DOW-"

The rest of her cry was cut off as the first blast collided with the side of the jumper, the metal shredding beneath the force.

For a split second, the only clear thought in Natsu's head was that Erza's warning had been completely useless since there was nowhere to get down to, nowhere to run for cover from what was coming.

They were taking on water. Fast.

And he was still strapped to his seat, with no chance of getting out of it in his panic and with the water climbing as fast as it was. His hands still fumbled around uselessly anyways on instinct, his fingers slipping over the straps on his chest and hips and his lungs desperately dragging in breath as if these would be his last, which they very well could be.

Then suddenly, all he knew was light.

Another blast.

His vision went black and his mind fell into nothingness before he could feel the coldness of salt water rushing into his lungs.

* * *

"What does this blinking light mean?"

Gray resisted the urge to growl for the sake of not acting like Natsu.

And the mechanic had just been thinking that he might've finally succeeded in discouraging the blonde from trying to talk to him, too. But maybe the near five minutes of silence between them had meant nothing after all.

There was just no getting rid of this girl.

"It means-" his meant-to-be snarky answer got caught in his throat when he glanced up to see what console she'd wandered over to, his eyes widening and his voice losing all of its spite, "…wait, it's blinking?"

"Yes," Lucy nodded softly, still staring down at the aforementioned light. "It's been doing so for the past two minutes."

Gray shot to his feet as a rush of adrenaline spiked through his veins, charging to stand next to her, unintentionally shoving her a bit to the side in the process so that he could reach where he needed, "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I didn't think you would listen," the blonde retorted.

"Blinking is bad!" the mechanic hissed, his fingers hurriedly tapping across the display.

Lucy rolled her eyes, pouring all of her spite into her voice since the boy wasn't looking her way to see her look of exasperation, "Well I've figured that much out by now!"

For once, her snap didn't elicit a reply, Gray's attention fully devoted elsewhere as his fingers hurriedly tapped and scrolled across the screen of the console, the light in the top right corner of the device still blinking an ominous red.

Once she could tell that he was too enthralled in whatever it was that he was doing to get mad at her, Lucy quietly stepped a bit closer to his side, leaning around his arm to get a look at the display as he worked. She would've looked over his shoulder if she were tall enough to, but as it was, the top of her head only came up to about his collarbones, so she settled for leaning around him instead.

Her brows furrowed as he pulled up a virtual map of the planet they'd arrived at earlier in the day, the water covering the entirety of the sphere giving its identity away. Their ship rested just beyond its atmosphere, so she'd had a good view of it from the greenhouse window when she'd gone to refresh herself after she'd said her farewells to Natsu and Erza.

She had an itch that that was where the pair was now, too. They hadn't told her any specifics about where they were going for their mission, but she knew that the water planet was the only feasible location in their proximity for the small spacecraft the two had taken.

A few more taps of Gray's fingertips on the edge of the display and their view was zooming into the planet, the screen soon spanned entirely by the deep blue of water save for one small red dot in the center. When the little red marker moved the tiniest fraction, Lucy realized that Gray was tracking something.

Only a few seconds later, the little red dot on the map suddenly disappeared and the blinking of the light in the corner of the console ceased. The two events occurred simultaneously, a truth that left bad a feeling festering in Lucy's chest.

"It stopped," she remarked flatly. Her brows furrowed when she looked up to find that Gray's features had grown even more distressed when the light went off and stayed off, "You…you said that the blinking was bad, so…It's a good thing that it stopped, right?"

His silence was answer enough.

Lucy stared at him quietly, trusting that despite his earlier coldness, an explanation would come soon enough.

A few more moments passed, and his hands retreated to the sides of the display, his fingers tightening around the edges of the console as he ground out, "The jumper's gone. Natsu and Erza are in trouble."

* * *

Natsu woke with a splutter, a torrent of cold, bitter water tearing up his chest and throat and out of his mouth as his body instinctively flipped on his side to avoid choking. His lungs heaved to empty themselves of the obtrusive liquid while simultaneously fighting for breath at the same time, the dual actions leaving his chest and throat burning.

He could feel a hand on his back and another on his top shoulder, keeping him supported as he vomited water and gasped for air.

Once he was done, there was something he could only describe as a squelching noise as he flopped onto his back, both of his arms flailing out to his sides in exhaustion now that he'd successfully purged his lungs.

The need to figure out where he was and what the hell had happened drove him to peel his eyes open, though the once simple action proved more difficult than he was willing to admit. He managed his goal after a few short moments though, a blurry vision of scarlet and pale skin melding into a familiar face.

Erza.

Beyond her, he could blearily make out a row of metal bars, a sight that held a clear implication as to where they were.

His eyes fluttered shut again and he groaned, "What…what the hell happened?"

"We got shot down and taken captive," she bluntly explained, knowing that there was no use in beating around the bush.

"By _who_?" he hissed, already revving to throw fists despite the aches and shivers ricocheting through his body. Erza helped him up to a sitting position, but he was aiming for more, his feet slipping against the ground as he fought to find the traction to stand.

"Calm down," the redhead kept him on the ground with a firm hand on his shoulder, though it wasn't like he could do much against her with his body feeling as heavy as it did. "You practically drowned, and I beat the hell out of your chest to get you breathing again, so you need to take it easy."

His hand shot to his mouth as realization dawned on him, his eyes widening into a look of horror and betrayal as he fearfully whispered, "Did…did you kiss me?"

She gave him a hard, blank stare for a moment before she rolled her eyes and stood, visibly restraining herself from hitting him and turning away from him to stand by the bars as she hissed, "Don't make me regret saving you." She began to pace along the length of their cell, her arms folded over her chest as she examined all of their surroundings and hissed out, "This is bad."

"Why…why did they attack us? We came to offer them aid," Natsu pressed a hand to his aching head, pulling it back only to find that there was watery blood trailing down his skin.

Perfect. A head wound. It was just what he needed to make this already fantastic situation better.

"I'm beginning to think it was a setup," Erza muttered.

"What gave you that idea?" he bitterly and sarcastically chuckled.

He dropped the game when she shot him a hard glare over her shoulder before resuming in her pacing, the pilot letting out a heavy sigh as his fingers searched his forehead for the source of the blood trailing down the side of his face.

After a few moments, the redhead suddenly paused in her pacing, and Natsu half-expected her to have already miraculously found a solution to their predicament like she sometimes did when they were in a pinch.

But instead, there was no victorious jeer and hurried explanation of a plan, her gaze still lost beyond the bars as she quietly breathed out, "This is bad."

"You said that already," Natsu lazily slurred.

She whipped around to fix him with another glare, "It seemed worth repeating!"

He shook his head and held a hand up in surrender, his other hand still pressed against where he thought the gash in his head was. The patch of skin sure stung like it'd been cut, but he was still a bit disoriented and disconnected from his senses, so it was hard to tell for sure.

Whoever it was that was holding them captive was sure going to pay for it once they got out. He'd make sure of that.

His head was pounding, his jumper was more than likely torn to shreds, and there was still the lingering and horrifying possibility that Erza had had to give him the kiss of life. He didn't like being wet, and he certainly didn't like being cold, either.

But yet, he was subject to all those things and more, the metal cell he was in far from his liking.

Yeah…there would be hell to pay for sure.

Erza suddenly whipped around to face him, "Will you be quiet?!"

Natsu's eyes went wide in incredulity as he spat back, "I didn't say anything!"

"Then stop thinking so loud!"

His lips curled in displeasure as he turned away from to childishly pout to himself in his corner, his mind going back to his previous game of ocean puns as he grumbled, "No need to be a beach."

* * *

"What do you mean they're in trouble? What do we do?!"

"I don't know! We…we just…wait, I guess."

One look at Gray told Lucy that he wasn't used to being the one to make decisions. That left the blonde wondering…If Natsu was the pilot, and Gray was the mechanic, then maybe Erza was the decision-maker onboard. Though, that didn't seem like _that_ important of a role, so there had to be much more to the redhead than that. But Lucy really didn't know enough about her to say anything more.

Those were thoughts to be pondered and questions to be answered at a later time though, anyways.

Once again, Lucy was practically chasing Gray down the hall, and it didn't take the blonde long to realize that he didn't have a particular destination this time. It quickly became evident that he was just anxiously pacing around the main, circular hallway of the upper level of the ship, his lower lip caught between his teeth in thought as the blonde yelled after him, "But we can't just sit here and do nothing if they need our help! Let's take the ship down and save them!"

"Yeah, brilliant idea," he scoffed bitterly as he whirled to face her, bringing her steps to a stumbling halt, "And then we risk losing our ship along with the jumper!"

"You said that before, but you never answered me!" The blonde squared her shoulders to him, immune to how he was using his height advantage to tower over her, "What do you mean the jumper's gone?!"

He held her fiery gaze for a moment before he whipped away from her with a growl as if realizing that his anger towards her was misplaced.

For a moment, Lucy swore he was going to punch one of the walls in fury, but to her surprise, he simply stood with his back to her, his shoulders tense and his breaths loud enough to let her know he was doing everything he could to calm himself down.

One of his hands came up to the back of his head, his fingers anxiously threading through his mop of raven hair in frustration, "That's…that's what all the blinking was earlier. One of that console's functions is to monitor the jumper. The blinking light was a warning that it was taking on damage, and when I tried to track it…it disappeared off the map. It's systems are down entirely. _That's_ how I know that they're in trouble."

There was silence for a few moments as his words sunk in.

"It…it could've just been a malfunction in the system," Lucy supplied hesitantly, knowing that her meager attempt at comfort was going to fail miserably, but still trying anyways.

He didn't say anything, but the hard look he gave her over his shoulder told her he wasn't buying it for a second.

The blonde let out a heavy sigh, her gaze meekly falling to the ground, "Well…then we _have_ to take the ship down. We don't have any other choice if we want to help them."

He stood stock still for a moment before he let lose another noise of frustration, his hand ruffling through his hair as he hissed, "I…I _can't_!"

"You mean…" she contemplated his words for a brief second, her brows furrowed as she questioned, "…you don't know how to fly the ship?"

Instead of giving her an answer, he spat out another question, whirling around to face her, "Why do you care so much? You haven't known us for more than two days, but yet you're so eager to get down there and help. We're practically strangers."

She held his hard glare in silence as she thought over her answer, the words coming easily once she started, "Well…Natsu and Erza have been plenty nice to me over the past two days. And although you three may not realize it…you helped save me, too. And you're still helping me by keeping me hidden and clear of where the Alliance can find me. If you guys hadn't answered Jellal's plea, I don't know what would've happened to us. We probably would've been captured again, and Jellal would've been killed for what he did…We were in a tight spot when he asked you to take me in, and you did it without hesitation."

She took a deep breath and licked her lips, dropping her gaze to the ground for a moment to gather her thoughts before looking up once more, " _That's_ why I want to help. To repay the favor and earn your trust. I don't how long I'll be on your ship, but…it would be nice if we could be friends anyways, wouldn't it? If we could trust each other and work together? There's already enough hate and distrust in the galaxy, and I don't want any more of it if I can help it."

For a moment, Gray found himself unable to say anything back.

Although he hadn't been present for the conversation that ended with Erza agreeing to take her in, he knew that the 'without hesitation' part wasn't entirely the truth given Natsu's mood towards her during her first month here. But regardless, they _had_ taken her in, and she had to be grateful for that, no matter how they'd treated her.

What she'd said wasn't new information. Not really. All she'd done was confirmed a few assumptions he'd already made and thrown in a few pledges that he supposed he should've seen coming. She _was_ quick to make friends with Natsu and Erza after all, and her lack of social interaction during her captivity seemed to have made her immune to the clear signs he'd sent telling her to scrub off.

That wall he'd put up against her had a tiny crack in it now though, but he refused to believe it was because of anything she'd done herself. He was only letting his guard down and giving in to her plea to work together so that he could save Natsu and Erza.

He wouldn't let himself get tricked into becoming friends with her when all of this was said and done though, because regardless, she still belonged to Alliance, and he wasn't about to fall into another one of their traps and end up getting hurt again because of it.

Acquaintances though…that was a term he could accept for now. He'd still keep a close eye on her in case she pulled anything, but if he wanted to save his friends from whatever had happened to them, working with her was his only choice.

He sucked in a heavy breath, figuring that since she'd given him an honest and straightforward answer, it was only right that he give her one as well. He took a deep breath before he admitted, "I've been trained to fly single-rider spacecraft just like everyone else who works for the council. But flying something as big as this…that's always been Natsu's job."

The mechanic didn't miss the way Lucy's lips quirked the tiniest fraction at having received a straightforward answer, but he didn't dare return the sentiment. He was still stressed out of his mind, after all.

"We'll figure something out," the blonde hummed softly. "You're Mr. I'm-A-Mechanic-But-I-Can-Do-Lots-Of-Other-Cool-Things-Too, so I'm sure there's _something_ we can do."

Gray only blinked at the nickname, a bit taken aback by her suddenly cheery and optimistic demeanor, the blonde flashing him a bright and determined grin as she proclaimed, "Let's go save our friends."

* * *

 **AN**

 **Hoo boy, this chapter was supposed to cover the events of the next chapter as well, but then I blabbed on for 7,000 words and decided that I should split it for the sake of not drowning you in a forever-long chapter. I just like my Graylu Brotp too much and went on for forever with their interactions, so…yeah. Given that, we won't meet our new character until next time instead of this time like we were supposed to, but they're literally in the first scene of the next chapter, so we won't have to wait too long!**

 **And yes, as Gray took note of, there is a considerable age gap between him and Natsu and Lucy instead of just one year like in the original series, but there's a reason for it, I swear! Though we won't find out about that reason until quite a bit later…I'll be giving specifics on their ages soon, so any questions about that should be cleared up in just a few chapters!**

 **Also, an exciting announcement: Lord Jaric made a TV Tropes page for Singularity! The url can be found on my bio in the section for Singularity if you'd like to check it out (which you totally should).**

 **To answer a question in a review: I don't have an update schedule since I've had one for previous fics and although I was able to keep up with them fairly well, they stress me out. But I am trying not to let more than two weeks go by between updates. I've done a decent job so far save for the release of chapter four, but there was a reason for the delay of that chapter, so I hope to be able to keep up with my goal of at least every two weeks!**

 **Anyways, thank you so much for reading and for your continued support! A special thank you to all of those who followed, favorited, and reviewed!**


	6. Chapter 6

"I fucking knew it."

Lucy bit her bottom lip as the phrase slipped through Gray's mouth, his choice of words giving her the idea that whatever he'd found had to be something terrible. When Jellal had taught her English, all he'd told her about profanity was that there was a certain set of words that were considered somewhat unfavorable and more forceful than the rest. If Gray was using what Jellal deemed to be one of the worst, than it _had_ to be the context of something awful.

She prepared herself for whatever it was he was about to say by pulling her knees tighter into her chest as she swiveled around in Natsu's pilot chair to face the console the mechanic had been seated at for the past twenty minutes, her brows cinched as she hesitantly asked, "What is it?"

Gray let out a quick breath, one that sounded almost relieved, before he started explaining, periodically throwing glances at her over his shoulder and his hands still moving across the screen as he spoke, "I was beginning to think that maybe Natsu and Erza were attacked because the Amerans wanted to use them as leverage to get more supplies or something, but then I tracked the distress transmission." He made a point of making eye contact with her when he finished telling her his findings, "Its location isn't the same one as the council gave us."

Unsure of how else to respond, Lucy confusedly, bluntly blurted, "What?"

"It means that they sent Natsu and Erza to the wrong place."

"So," Lucy's gaze wandered the floor as she thought, "this is the council's fault?"

"Well, I guess it kind of is, but…" he let out a another heavy breath as he spun in his own chair to face her, "The council's concerned that some of the natives may have been swayed into supporting the Alliance while the planet was under their control, so they kept an eye on the place in case those people tried to pull something. Three years ago, the census stated that there was only one colony of natives left…But this transmission proves otherwise. Its origin is a few hundred miles away from the colony. It means there's other people on that planet. People that need help." He leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees, running a hand through his hair as he huffed out, "And everything we had to offer them went down with the jumper."

' _Everything we had to offer and my only crewmates,'_ Gray bitterly completed the thought in his head. And it didn't seem like he didn't have to voice the thought aloud for Lucy to know what he was thinking, a small trace of pity mixed with the frustration and sadness in her eyes as she stared at him in silence for a few moments.

"Why…why didn't the council track the message before sending them off?" The blonde clenched her hands atop her knees, "This probably could've been avoided if they'd done their part."

Gray gave a weak shrug, his gaze cast to the side, "I guess they were set on the idea that there was only one colony left, so they didn't even think about tracking it. Maybe to them, this mission isn't important enough to bother with stuff like that."

Lucy curled even further into herself and bit her lip again at his words, obviously and reasonably upset with the situation.

It just didn't make sense to her. She knew that the council recruited kids at a young age just like the Alliance did, which was still far from condonable in her mind. But suffering under the Alliance had given her some sort of unexplainable faith and belief that the enemy of those who held her captive were everything the Alliance wasn't; that they looked after and cared for their people.

But now, she was beginning to think otherwise. Natsu and Erza were attacked _under water,_ a situation that provided little hope for their survival. The two of them could be dead for all she and Gray knew, and if they _were_ dead, than the council was to blame for not doing their part.

With a little shake of her head, Lucy forced her mind away from those thoughts, thoughts that two people she knew she could be friends with could possibly be dead and thoughts of the council, and back to the present. There was no use dwelling on such ideas anyways, not unless she wanted to reveal herself to the council by busting through their doors to give them a piece of her mind, an action that would do far more harm than good, especially to herself.

She did her best to shove her anger away by taking a deep breath, looking back up to find that Gray was still hunched over his legs with his head in hands, "So…what do we do? Just charge in and save them?"

He let out quick, dry laugh, finally lifting his head, "If I was Natsu, I'd say that was a great plan." The spite in his voice cut out halfway through his jab, almost as if he'd suddenly remembered that the person he spoke of could very well be dead at the moment.

What seemed like his hundredth sigh of their conversation slipped through his lips as he spun back around to face his console, the resolve in his voice growing more and more prevalent, "Our best bet is finding help. And there's only one place we're gonna find that any time soon."

Lucy untucked her knees from her chest and lightly placed her booted feet on the ground before she stood from Natsu's chair, taking a few steps to peer over Gray's shoulder so she could see the screen he was looking at, her eyes met with a blinking, red light in a sea of dark blue.

* * *

The blast doors at the end of the cell block made a harsh grating noise as they slid open, and before silence could be restored, the sound of sharp footfalls on the concrete of the ground filled the space, growing louder and closer with each passing moment.

Erza paused where she'd been pacing in front of the bars of her and Natsu's cell, casting a quick glance over her shoulder at the pilot slouched in the corner before turning back to the hallway to face whatever was coming, "I have a feeling we're about to get interrogated."

Natsu glanced up from where he'd been pressing his hand against the wound on his head while his arm was propped up on his knee, blood still running down the side of his face as he gave the redhead a wry grin, "Oh, well that's fantastic. I would tell you to just be yourself so that we don't seem suspicious, but that almost got us killed last time."

That earned him a sharp and quick glare, but Erza gave him nothing more, obviously not in the mood to reward his jabs with any more.

"How can we be expected to answer their questions?" The pilot let out a heavy breath as he slowly pushed himself away from the wall and onto his feet, his hand returning his head when the world threatened to tip upside down for a moment. Whatever he'd hit his head on had certainly taken its toll. "The council made it more than clear that they don't speak English, so what the hell are we supposed to do?"

"We do whatever we can to survive." She turned over her shoulder to give him another hard look as he came to stand next to her, "That's always a good choice, isn't it?"

The pilot didn't have a chance to give her more than a sarcastic quirk of his eyebrows in response, any words he might've said dying in his throat when the person who'd entered the cellblock made it to the front of their cell.

The first thing Natsu processed was a long, wild mane of black hair. Then, he took note of the man's considerably tan skin, a trait he wouldn't expect to see in someone who lived at the bottom of the ocean. But what caught him the most off guard were the piercings, his lips curling a bit in distance as he took in the silver studs that ran down the man's chin and the sides of his nose and filled the space where his eyebrows should have been.

Natsu was about to make a comment about body modification gone wrong, but a rough, deep voice filled the space before he could, which was probably a good thing considering what his jab could've earned him.

"So," a pair of red eyes fixed the duo behind bars with a sharp glare, one hand swinging a bat around to land menacingly in his other palm, "who are you and why are you here?"

* * *

The ship jolted, sending Lucy's upper body rocketing forward and her face smashing into the console before her. Pain immediately shot through her nose, but she paid it little mind. The strap across her hips had saved her from toppling forward entirely, so a bruised nose was a small price to pay considering what could've been if she hadn't taken the precaution.

Gray was only vaguely aware of her sharp hisses of pain as she fingered the abused flesh, his breath still escaping him in heavy, sharp puffs. If he hadn't been holding onto the control wheel so tightly because of his nerves, he probably would've toppled forward, too, but the tension in his arms had saved him from the impact.

He'd done it. He'd piloted and landed the ship, and now they were safely within the compound of the people who had sent the transmission, the people who had asked for their help and were now going to be asked to offer their own aid.

Having assumed that the hanger he'd be landing in would be flooded with water and therefore the ship could just sort of float down onto the pad while the chamber was drained, Gray had thought entering the water would be the hard part. And although the transition had been rough, the final landing was definitely the harsher of the two. They'd arrived at the compound to find that there was a sort of force field keeping the water out of the hanger, so there was no choice but to make the landing dry. He'd given the ship a little too much thrust, and they'd come toppling down, albeit in one piece but definitely not without a few bumps.

He could only hope that he hadn't done more damage to the ship during his less than skillful docking. The last thing they needed was to have to make more repairs.

Keeping one hand held against her nose, Lucy undid the belt around her hips, the now lose buckles falling to clack against the side of her chair.

When Gray made no move to the same, his hands still wrapped around the yoke in a death grip and his gaze zoned straight forward, she made her way over to him, speaking softly for fear she'd get a punch in the face if she spooked him, "Gray...you can let go of the wheel. You did it. You landed the ship."

He jumped a bit when she lightly placed her free hand on his shoulder, the blonde taking a deep breath before she used one of her less daunting abilities, one that had belonged to her since before she'd been taken by the Alliance.

The tension in his arms faded and his hands fell from the wheel, his eyes numbly and slowly wandering up to her face. The sight of her seemed to finally bring him fully back to the present, his brows furrowing as he asked, "Is that blood?"

She slowly peeled her hand away from her nose, shifting her gaze up to his face and back down to the liquid coating her fingers a few times before she numbly mumbled, "…No?"

Gray stared at her in blank silence for a brief moment before he hurriedly unbuckled himself from Natsu's pilot chair as he spat, "That's not a question you're supposed to answer with another question."

"I didn't think I'd hit it hard enough to bleed," she murmured sadly, staring at her palm for a moment more before bringing her hand back to her nose to gently wipe away the small stream of blood that'd been making its way to her mouth.

The mechanic bent down to pluck a clean rag that'd flown from his toolbox during their rough landing, folding it in half once before holding it out to the blonde, "We can get you patched up once we've talked to someone who can help us. I don't think our guests would appreciate it too much if we took forever to come out and say 'hello.'"

With a bit of hesitance, she reached out to take the cloth from his hand, bobbing her head once in a nod, "Right."

That was all the confirmation Gray needed to get a move on, his veins still buzzing with adrenaline as he charged towards the back of their ship. He didn't need to look to know that Lucy was right behind him, her footfalls echoing down the corridor after his own.

They were at the back of their ship in what felt like seconds, the mechanics fingers hurriedly tapping over a console in the wall to lower the ramp.

"Gray."

A soft and hesitant call of his name had him turning over his shoulder, and he spun to find that Lucy was standing a few feet back, her fingers nervously fiddling with the edge of her thin, loose hoodie, which was much too large for her.

Her bottom lip was caught between her teeth, her brows furrowed a fraction as she shifted on her feet, "I want to help. I _really_ do, but…I…I don't know if I should go out there."

He paused, staring at her in silence for a moment before he finally understood what she was getting at.

With the tiny lights scattered across her skin, it was blatantly obvious that she wasn't entirely human. If she went out there, she would draw unwanted attention to herself and make an impression, one that would be remembered if the Alliance came searching for her here.

His mind ran over the possibilities of what he could do, on whether he should tell her to hide on the ship or come with him and hope that the worse didn't happen.

It didn't take him long to decide that he _needed_ her out there.

There was no guarantee that these people would help him get his crewmates back if they were still alive, but Lucy was obviously fully devoted to the cause. Her help was the only surety about the situation, and he'd discovered during their earlier quarrels that she certainly had a way with words, a skill that would be more than useful in this situation.

Maybe, he briefly thought, if things worked out in such a way, they could finally have someone on their crew that was decent with diplomacy, because Natsu and Erza certainly weren't cut out for such a thing.

But she could stay only _if_ she proved herself entirely trustworthy, because he still wasn't completely sold on her yet. She was still keeping secrets, and until he knew what those secrets were, he wasn't going to be content with keeping her around. And sure, there were things he didn't know about Natsu and Erza still, but at least he had the reassurance that they came from a somewhat similar background as him; that they'd been trained and taken in by the council just as he had, and he knew with a surety where they're allegiance lied.

With Lucy, there was no such reassurance, and the lights on her body served as proof of her unique origins.

The white hoodie and gray leggings she wore effectively covered the marks on her body. The only problem was the lights on her face, but Gray found a solution in the bloody rag she still had clasped in her right hand.

He gestured towards it with his head, his voice letting her know that he wasn't going to give her a choice to argue or hesitate any longer, "You're coming with me. Keep that pressed against your nose, and it should cover the lights on your cheeks. Pull your hood up, too."

She glanced down at the rag, her eyes still unsure, "Are…are you sure about this?"

"You want to get Natsu and Erza back, don't you?" he huffed as he pushed the final control. "If we want to do that, we're gonna have to work together."

"Okay," she breathed out after a few moments of silence, pressing the rag over her nose with her palm flat against the lower half of her face as the wall before them began to tip backwards towards the top, the slab of metal staying connected to their ship at the bottom as it unfolded to form a ramp from the upper level of the ship to the ground below.

When they had reached out upon their approach towards the compound, their transmission had been answered with an all clear, and, as promised, there was someone waiting in the hanger for them.

The old man standing a few feet away from the edge of their ramp couldn't have been more than a few feet tall, his eyes appearing closed beneath his thick, bushy eyebrows and his mouth set in a serene grin beneath his equally bushy, toothbrush-like mustache.

Gray started down the ramp, waiting for the old man to say something. But when there was only silence, he took the initiative of doing his best to awkwardly begin the conversation, "Um, hey."

The old man only continued to serenely smile at the mechanic and the blonde as the pair made it to the bottom of the ramp, letting them fester in silence for a moment before simply turning around and beginning to walk away with hands contently clasped behind his back.

Lucy and Gray shared a brief, confused look before following.

The mechanic huffed out a heavy breath and quickly dropped the pleasantries, knowing that there wasn't much purpose in it with what he'd come to the compound for. He took a few hurried steps to catch up the old man, trialing a few paces behind him as he started his explanation, "Look, I know we came to help, but like I told you earlier, something went wrong."

After exiting the tunnel that led out of the hanger, the old man took a turn down a hallway, taking them past the doors to the other docking pads before leading them into what seemed to be a sort of commons area; the scope of the room was absolutely massive. The ceiling hung far above them, and on one side, there was no white wall like the others, only windows that bathed the room in a subtle blue glow. The lights on the outside of the compound illuminated what lived beyond, both plant-life and animal.

The old man's silence and ignorance of his earlier statements didn't stop Gray from trying, though his voice was growing more exasperated the longer the old man continued to leave him without an answer, "We're looking for our friends. They-"

The man suddenly slowed to a halt and spun to face them, his face still serene as he extended an arm out towards a nearby white bench that was facing the windows.

Lucy leaned towards the mechanic, whispering from beneath her hand, "I think he wants us to wait here."

"Yeah," Gray huffed irritably as the old man turned and continued on his way, "I got it."

While the mechanic mindlessly occupied himself with needlessly riffling through and straightening out his jacket, Lucy made her way around the bench to take a seat on it, pulling her hood further over her head and slowly lowering the rag from over her nose. Her gaze quickly became glued to the sight beyond the windows, and the world around her seemed to fade away.

Other than the vibrant coral and other brightly colored, deep-sea vegetation, there wasn't much other than a few meager fish. But the vast ocean of blue that seemed to extend for forever in every direction gave Lucy the feeling that there was more out there than just ordinary fish; that if she sat here waiting long enough, she might see something spectacular.

It was only when Gray suddenly plopped on the bench beside her that she was jolted back to reality, her hand automatically flying back up to cover the bottom half of her face before she could realize that the person beside her wasn't someone she had to hide from. She regretted the action immediately, the force of her hand against her nose sending pain thrumming through her skull once more.

The mechanic quirked a brow at her reaction, but he quickly dismissed it with a heavy sigh.

This was a new environment, one where she would be surrounded by people without knowing whether or not they knew who and what she was, whether or not they were friend or foe. It was only reasonable that she would be a bit on edge.

"You don't have to look so terrified," he crossed his arms over his chest and reclined back on the bench, his legs stretched straight before him. "Natsu and Erza would probably kill me if I let anything happen to you, so I'll do my part and watch your back if you watch mine." He let his head fall backwards to rest on the top of the bench, closing his eyes as he breathed, "You'll be fine. Natsu and Erza will be fine. We'll all be fine."

When he peaked an eye open to glance her way, he saw that his words hadn't seemed to comfort her in the slightest, and if anything, she had curled even further into herself.

He sat up once more and turned to face her fully with his brows furrowed, leaning forward and hunching down a bit to scrutinize her every feature as she did her best to hide her face from him, using the rag and hood to conceal her expression, "There's something else you're afraid of, isn't there?"

She held out for a moment more before letting out a sigh and turning back to face him, shrugging, "I…kind of." The hand with the rag in it fell back into her lap, where she stared at it as she hesitantly admitted, "It's the water. I…I can't swim."

There was silence for a few moments before he let out a little tsk and returned to his former reclined position, crossing his arms over his chest and closing his eyes once more, "If we're lucky, you won't have to."

"My home planet…" she continued without needing his consent, knowing that he was still listening even though he hadn't asked for an explanation, "…We didn't…We didn't have oceans or lakes or rivers…We didn't even have ponds or streams. At least not where I lived."

He opened his eyes, but didn't turn his head to look in her direction, his focus instead on the high-vaulted ceiling. "No water…" he muttered with his brows furrowed, "How is that you possible? You were human before the Alliance took you, weren't you?" His voice dropped lower, "Or is that another thing you're keeping secret from us?"

She slowly sucked in a heavy breath, not in the mood to acknowledge his jab, "There was still water, but…not like this…not all in one place. We had to scavenge and barter for it, and go to-" she cut off her own words when she slammed the hand with the cloth in it back against the lower half of her face, her eyes going wide as they focused on something over his shoulder.

At her sudden cut off, Gray sat up and turned to find what had caught her attention.

A girl with blue hair nearly the same color as the illuminated water beyond the window was standing nearly right behind him, her arms folded under her breasts and one of her eyebrows slightly quirked as if she'd been waiting for them to notice for her quite some time, but she hadn't been bothered to make herself known to them. Her hair fell in waves and her skin was pale, a characteristic he'd expect in someone who had lived at the bottom of the ocean for their entire life.

She was so close that Gray had to crane his neck upwards to make eye contact with her, her ability to get this near to him without him realizing pressing silence on him for a few seconds before he finally managed to mumble, "Um…hi."

"Hey," she flatly greeted back without missing beat, her arms still folded across her chest.

Gray shot to his feet and swiveled around the edge of the bench to face her, straightening his jacket out as Lucy stood and positioned herself somewhat behind him, peeking past his shoulder as the mechanic began, "We're the ones from the coun-"

"I know," the blue haired girl cut him off, her lips pressing into a tiny, barely there grin. "I'm Juvia. I'll be your translator while you're here."

Lucy tried to say something, but with how tightly she was pressing the rag against the lower half of her face, the words came out as unintelligible.

The girl's eyebrows furrowed as she looked at the blonde, "I'm sorry, what?"

Lucy angled her hand differently as she somewhat dejectedly repeated, "I…I said it's nice to meet you." Her features suddenly dropped and she turned to look at Gray sadly, disgust in her voice as she blubbered through the rag, "Some blood got in my mouth."

Gray let out a quick breath, his voice laced with exasperation as he gestured towards the bench, "Lucy, just…just go sit down for now, 'kay?"

The blonde nodded before giving Juvia another glance, and Gray suspected that she was trying to give the blue haired girl a smile, but the cloth over her mouth left the gesture hidden. She found her spot on the bench again as Gray caught Juvia's eye and gestured with his head down the hallway.

Juvia cast a look at the blonde over her shoulder as she followed the mechanic a short distance away, "What's wrong with her?"

"Bloody nose." He gave her a wry grin as they stopped beside the windows, about ten feet away from blonde, "We, uh, didn't really have the best landing."

The corner of her lip quirked a fraction, "Mr. Yajima told me about it. He's the one that you met before." She huffed out a heavy breath, her voice not entirely sincere as she apologized, "I'm sorry I couldn't be there to meet you at the hanger myself. I'm the only one here that speaks English, and it takes a bit to get here from the communication room."

Gray nodded, taking note of why her voice had sounded familiar. She'd been the one he'd talked with earlier over their coms, which meant she'd been the one to give them the all clear to dock.

He decided he'd save the question of how she knew English for a later time, the situation with Natsu and Erza still the primary topic he wanted addressed, and he didn't have to wait long for it to happen.

"Something came up yesterday, so our leader won't be able to meet with you until later today," Juvia continued, leaning back against one of the windows with her hands clasped behind her back. "If you can imagine, it wasn't very pleasant to hear that the supplies we'd been promised were lost, but he's still willing to discuss terms."

Her gaze fell to the floor for a moment as she gently shrugged, "I can't make any promises on whether or not he'll pledge you our people's aid. It depends on how much you're willing to offer in return."

Gray bit his lip and gave her a grim nod, having already expected such to be the case because that was the way the galaxy worked nowadays. Everything was give and take, and there was no deed done without receiving something in return.

Juvia gently cleared her throat, her brows furrowed slightly as she tentatively began, "I'm curious about something…Why wouldn't the council send help to the location they received the transmission from? Was there some sort of mistake?"

A scoff slipped through Gray's lips as he was reminded about his anger towards the council for their simple and easily-avoidable mistake, his arms crossing over his chest as he leaned back against the glass next to her and huffed, "I guess they thought there was only one colony left on this planet, so they didn't waste time tracking it. I'll definitely be letting them know about my feelings towards their lack of caution the next time I see one of them."

He saw Juvia nod softly in understanding in his peripherals, so he tentatively moved on to his own question, "The people that attacked my friends…you know anything about them?"

There was silence for a few moments, and although Juvia hadn't been entirely amiable during their conversation thus far, her expression was now completely void of all benevolence. Her lips were tightly pressed together, her gaze unreachably downcast as she hissed an answer, "They're Balam loyalists; people that supported the Alliance when they conquered us."

Gray's expression hardened as his suspicions were confirmed, his hands clenching into fists.

Juvia took a moment to swallow heavily, glancing at him every now and then as she continued, "When we were abandoned after the war ended, those who supported the Alliance and those who didn't lived together out of necessity. We knew there was no chance that either faction would survive on their own, so we tolerated one another. We were finally managing to get somewhere with rebuilding our society, but about a year ago, the loyalists staged a takeover and killed nearly everyone who opposed them. Those of us who were left fled here."

The mechanic simply listened in silence as she explained, her words just another tale of horrors he'd already heard. It seemed that everyone had their story of suffering through Balam's torment, though he supposed that that was the truth of things now. War impacted everyone, whether they were on they were on the front lines or within the safety of their chosen side's territory, and the conflict between the council and the Alliance was certainly no exception. Especially with the Alliance's brutal war tactics and the council's methods of retaliation. He was sure that there wasn't a single planet in the galaxy that hadn't been scarred by the conflict.

He cleared his throat once he was sure that she was through, slightly hesitant because he didn't know the full of the situation, "Why did you guys only ask for food? Why not weapons or help? If the council knew that you were going against people loyal to the Alliance, they'd-"

"This isn't the council's fight anymore," she pushed herself away from the window, turning to face him fully. "You can only live in captivity for so long before you grow to hate everyone you knew could help you get out, but didn't. We shoved aside our hate and asked them for supplies because we knew they were only option."

Given that he worked for them, Gray supposed he should've felt obligated to defend to the council, but he didn't. He'd had no affiliation with them during the war anyways, so he had no personal ties to what they'd done during that horrible time.

Besides, there was another thought that had surfaced in his mind, one that was a bit more intriguing to him.

Under the weight of Juvia's words and without his volition, his eyes drifted to Lucy, who was still hooded and holding a bloodied cloth to her nose, her eyes still dancing across the sights in the water outside just as they had been for the past few minutes. Even though there wasn't much to see and nothing had changed about the image, she still looked fascinated by the sight.

Her appearance made her seem too innocent to be capable of hate, but did she feel the same way about the council as Juvia did? It wasn't as if the council knew about the experiments the Alliance was conducting, but they surely could be doing more to keep an eye on their enemy, especially since the council was the side to win the war.

He wouldn't blame her if there was some sort of animosity, just like he didn't blame Juvia now.

The blue haired girl took in a heavy breath and turned away from him a fraction, her eyes returning to the floor and her voice becoming softer, "Besides, even if they support the Alliance, those people are still our people. They're still Amerans. They may not feel the same way, but we won't do to them what they did to us. They're our families…our friends." Her eyes fell to the floor, "…Our _best_ friends."

The way she'd said those words and the sadness in her eyes let him know that she'd had someone specific in mind as she'd spoken, a friend whom she'd loved that had betrayed her.

A friend who was now their enemy.

* * *

Natsu couldn't hold himself back as he stared at the black-maned man leaning against the wall beyond the bars, his brows furrowed as he blurted, "You speak English?"

The man quirked a metal-studded brow and narrowed his eyes in the pilot's direction, already looking bored of the conversation even though it'd just begun, "You don't get to ask questions, pinkie. All you get to do is answer mine." He let out a deep chuckle, lifting and swinging his bat down into his left palm once more in a threat, "I'm sure you know what happens if you choose not to comply."

The visible ridges and touch activation pad on the bat let Natsu know that it was far from ordinary and probably had some sickening, mechanized adornments, but this guy was going to have to try harder than that to scare him.

The pilot's lips pulled back in a snarl and let out a daring growl.

Erza let out a heavy breath, elbowing her crewmate to get him to shut up before she began, "Look, there's been a misunderstanding. We came because we received a distress transmission from this planet a few days ago. All we had on that ship was food. We didn't mean anyone any harm."

"Distress transmission?" the man filled the silence following his repetition by running his fingers and gaze up and down the bat in his hand as if admiring it, obviously thinking the information over. He didn't seem surprised by any it, as if he already knew everything the redhead had told him.

Natsu was getting seriously pissed off, and not only because he was being threatened, though that was a significant contributing factor.

There was something annoyingly familiar about the way this guy talked, the way he pronounced his words and his intonation. There were thousands of languages in the galaxy, and within those languages there were innumerable accents, making it rare to find someone with a recognizable dialect seemingly in the middle of nowhere. But this guy…something about his speech was so achingly familiar. Natsu knew he'd never seen the guy before, because he knew he'd remember someone with a face and hair like that. But no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't figure out; couldn't make himself understand why this guy's dialect ached to listen to.

Red eyes flickered back up to the pair behind bars, "Your ship's identification code. It belongs to the council."

"Of course we're from the council," Natsu spat, his hands tightening around the bars as he shoved aside all feelings of familiarity. "They're the ones that you sent the transmission to, so who else would we be?"

"We didn't send a fucking distress transmission," the man ground out. He pushed himself off of the wall, taking a step closer to the bars and swinging his bat over his shoulder as he growled, "We're not pathetic and weak. We don't need any help from anyone. _Especially_ not the council."

He turned on his heel, his bat still swung over his shoulders as he disappeared just as he had come.

"That's it?!" Erza called after him as she pressed against the bars to keep sight of him, upset at having been denied a chance to properly sort things out. "That's all you're going to ask us?!"

"Yes, that's it," the man turned back around to face them again, his eyes and voice cold, "I got everything I needed to confirm that we're enemies."

"Enemies?" Natsu repeated with furrowed brows, his voice full of spite as he pressed his face against the bars to glare at the man's back. "The hell did we ever do to you?"

Erza's face, however, was filled with stone-cold understanding, her next words a statement rather than a question, "You're from the Alliance."

The metal-studded man gave only a low chuckle in confirmation, taking a deep, mocking bow before turning on his heel and continuing on his way out of the cell block.

"The Alliance?" Natsu heatedly repeated as the redhead pulled away from the bars and pressed her back against the far wall before sliding down it to sit on the floor. "Erza, we've gotta do something! We can fight back!"

"No," she reprimanded sharply, folding her arms over her chest and fixing her gaze straight forward. "There's no fighting back this time. At least not yet, and certainly not like this. We don't have a chance of getting out of here alive on our own."

"Well, we can't just sit here and do nothing!" the pilot shoved himself away from the bars, and it became his turn to hurriedly and angrily pace about the cell in exasperation. "I'm not gonna let myself die like this!"

"I didn't say that we were going to let ourselves be killed."

He slid to a quick halt and whirled around to face her, "Then what the hell are we supposed to do if you won't let me fight?!"

"We put our trust in Gray," Erza responded simply, as if her solution should have been obvious. "He's bound to have realized that something went wrong by now, and he's probably already working on a way to get us out."

"Unless he thinks we're dead," Natsu spat bitterly, irritably crumpling against the wall and sinking to the floor just like Erza had.

She lightly shook her head, "He wouldn't jump to that assumption. He'll come for us."

Natsu sat, mentally raging in silence for a moment before he hissed, "That idiot better not bring Lucy with him."

"There's no guarantee that anyone here knows who she is," Erza sought to reassure him even though her own hopes weren't too high. "The galaxy's a big place. Even with modern technology, information can take a long time to spread, especially if it's something as secretive as the experiments the Alliance has been performing."

"They'll know who she is," Natsu hissed as he folded his arms over his chest, not in the mood to be optimistic. "She's valuable; high priority. There's no pretending like things will happen otherwise if they see her. They'll do anything to take her back and then they'll do whatever it takes to figure out why they succeeded on turning her into a weapon and they'll replicate it. And then the Alliance will have won."

He turned his head to the side to let Erza know that he was done with the conversation, anger flooding through his veins and the urge to fight filling his body, his mind suffering with nothing to be done as they sat imprisoned in the midst of the enemy.

* * *

 **AN**

 **Hello again, lovely readers! Nothing too exciting this chapter, but we've met two new characters!** **Gajeel wasn't supposed to show up until the next arc, but then I was thinking things through, and I was just like 'fuck it, he's coming in now.' His addition to this arc makes me feel better about how things are going to go down, and it'll provide a better transition in to the next arc, too! And with his addition, I changed how I'm handling Juvia, and I like it much better than my original plan, so I'm excited for you to read it~**

 **As always, thank you for the support and thank you so much for reading! I'd love to hear your thoughts!**

 **Until next time!**


	7. Chapter 7

Lucy bit her lip to restrain a wince as the tiny needles on the edge of the tool Gray was pressing against her nose punctured her skin, the tool emitting a sound she could only describe as a zap. And suddenly, the pain was gone, though whether that was because she'd been numbed or healed, she didn't know. But, at the very least, she was finally rid of the throbbing that'd been tormenting her for nearly an hour.

"There," Gray huffed, setting the tool aside. "That should do it."

"Thanks," she muttered quietly, but sincerely. Even if he definitely wasn't the kindest to her, it didn't mean that she would treat him the same. Like she'd told the crew of three before, kindness was the very essence of her people's existence, and maybe, if she kept at it long enough, she could win over his friendship through her words and deeds.

In return to her thanks, he gave her nothing but a single nod of his head, his hand swiping a lump of white fabric from the table she'd placed it on earlier and chucking it in her direction on his way out of the med bay.

Lucy only barely managed to snag one of the folds of the fabric as it soared past her face, a stumped frown settling on her lips as she began to think over how she was going to use the material of the shirt she'd disassembled to cover her glowing markings.

At first, she'd suggested that they use her injured nose as a reason to have some sort of patch on her face, then at least the lights on her cheeks would be covered, with only the ones on her chin left to be dealt with. But Gray had quickly shut the idea down. With modern medical technology and its near instant reparation when it came to small injuries, she really couldn't get away with wearing a bandage over her nose without _someone_ getting suspicious or nosy, and a herd of intrusive strangers was the last thing they needed with everything that'd gone down only hours before.

Not that a mask was any less suspicious or attention-worthy, but at least it was somewhat practical and not entirely out of the ordinary. On some planets, masks were a staple of fashion, and on plenty of others, they were rather pragmatic and useful in protecting the lungs from harmful particles in the air.

Unfortunately, on Ameri, and in their deep-sea mining colonies, masks weren't necessary in the practical sense, but she and Gray still had a few options they'd been tossing around when it came to explaining the fabric if anyone were to ask.

After staring at the bundle of material in her lap for a few moments, Lucy decided that there was really only one way to do it.

She intertwined her hair in one long braid down her back and tucked the braid into the back of her sweatshirt to keep it out of the way while she wrapped the loose fabric around her face. She let the material run tight over her nose so that it would stay in place and loose over her mouth so she could breathe and speak comfortably, tugging at the fabric to make sure that it sat just right before she secured the loose ends at the back of her head. Though she was sure that the knot wasn't her prettiest work since she couldn't see what her hands were doing, she was confident it would hold. It would be covered anyways, so appearances were of little concern.

The bottom of the coiled fabric got shoved into the collar of her sweatshirt before she stood and pulled her hood over her head, the blonde trotting over to one of the darkened screens on the wall of the med bay to see her reflection and check things over visually.

The fabric of her makeshift mask actually matched the white of her sweatshirt quite nicely, making it seem less improvised. And, most importantly, it covered the little lights on her cheeks and chin, perfectly concealing their brightness.

With the surety that the mask would work, at least for the time being, she set out from the med bay.

Her brows lifted slightly when she turned one of the corners of the upper level's hallway to find Gray leaning against the wall nearest the exit of the ship, surprise filtering through her at the fact that he'd actually waited for her before venturing back out in to the colony.

Upon catching sight of her, he pushed himself away from the wall, his eyes scrutinizing her face before giving her a tiny nod of approval for her work with her mask, "You ready?"

"Yeah," she breathed out quietly, following a few steps behind him as he started down the ramp.

Juvia would be waiting for them just beyond the hanger's exit, and from there, she'd be taking them to meet with the leader of their band of refugees to discuss the situation at hand.

Before they left the hanger entirely, Lucy glanced up at the force field keeping the water out, "This place is pretty cool, now that I think about it. And your guys' ship, too. I didn't think it'd be able to go under water and stuff."

"Our ship is meant for space travel," the mechanic huffed out over his shoulder. "It'd be a little disappointing if it couldn't survive just a little dip."

And, just like that, any thoughts Lucy may have had concerning whether or not Gray was starting to be nicer to her withered. He was back to being the grumpy and bitter person she'd come to know him as.

The blonde pursed her lips as she grumbled back, "But it wasn't just a 'little dip.' Space is… _nothingness._ This planet has to have _hundreds_ of _trillions_ of gallons of water."

"Well, it wasn't all on top of us at once, was it?" he spat back, not even bothering to look at her as he continued to charge forward.

Lucy curled into herself at his sharp tone, figuring that she could dismiss at least some small fraction of the spite in his voice as frustration over their current predicament. It was understandable that he'd be upset and on edge given that two of his crewmates could very well be dead.

Figuring she wasn't going to get much out of him in terms of small talk, she decided that maybe silence was the better option, at least for the moment. There would be plenty of talking later, when they were face to face with the colony's leader.

As promised, Juvia was waiting for them on the other side of the tunnel that connected their hanger to the main compound, along with a pink haired girl they had yet to be introduced to.

And it seemed as if Juvia had no intent of introducing them, simply gesturing for them to follow her down the hallway with her head, "This way."

The blunette and the other girl started off without waiting to see if the pair was going to follow, leaving Lucy and Gray to travel a few steps behind as the two girls spoke with one another in a foreign tongue.

Lucy was grateful that she and Gray were being somewhat ignored though, the lack of attention on her easing her nerves a small fraction and giving her time to think.

What were they going to do if these people turned them away? If she and Gray had no other choice but to waltz in there on their own, she highly doubted they would be successful. Even just the prospect of doing so was terrifying.

And based on what she'd overheard Juvia tell Gray, these people could very well be incapable of offering them the kind of aid they needed. They'd been forced to flee from their home to the compound they were in now, which had probably been abandoned for quite some time before they'd arrived if the looks of the place were anything to go by. It certainly didn't seem like they had the means to stage an attack on a colony full of people loyal to the Alliance, in terms of both supplies and manpower. Lucy had only seen three people in the compound thus far, and though she was sure that there were more people who had escaped, she wasn't sure if it would be enough.

The blonde swallowed heavily, angling her head towards Gray and speaking in a low whisper so as not to be overheard by the pair ahead of them, "What do we do if they won't help us?"

His quick response let her know that he'd spent some time contemplating the possibility as well, his voice low as he leaned towards her, "You've broken out of one of Balam's facilities before. Think you can break into one and break out again?"

Lucy shook her head, "I had Jellal with me the first time. He did most of the work."

Gray let out a heavy breath, asking his next question both with the intent of gaining some ideas for their rescue operation and out of his own curiosity, "How'd he do it?"

"The Alliance removed the previous head from overseeing the experiments on me because of his lack of progress in figuring out why I was a success," the blonde mumbled, keeping an eye on the girls in front of her to make sure they weren't listening in and hearing things they weren't meant to hear.

She decided to paraphrase her tale, leaving in only the bits she deemed necessary so as to shorten the length of time they were at risk of being overheard, "I was supposed to be transferred to someone else; someone they all said had much more knowledge on the subject. During my transport between planets, Jellal hijacked the ship and jumped into FTL away from Balam territory. We ditched the ship on an abandoned planet on The Rim, and boarded another ship he'd prepared. That's when he contacted you, and we went straight to the station."

Gray's brows furrowed as he thought over the mass of information and tried to fill in the blanks himself, one of many questions he had spilling from his mouth before he could stop himself, "Why wouldn't they put the guy that had more knowledge in charge in the first place?"

"The way I understand it, this guy they were transferring me to was a lot younger than the previous head, and in comparison to the others, he seemed to be pretty new to the chain of command." Her shoulders lifted in a tiny shrug, "So…I guess he just wasn't there when they first took me captive. But he seemed to be climbing the chain of superiority pretty fast."

The blonde did another check on the pair in front of them, finding that they were still void of any eavesdroppers as she leaned even closer to Gray, dropping her voice even lower to emphasize the fact that the information she was telling him was something she deemed incredibly important, "I never heard his name. People just referred to him as Spriggan."

* * *

Natsu shifted from where he'd slouched against the wall to keep an eye on what rested beyond their cell as Erza drifted off to sleep, his arms still grumpily folded over his chest and anger still lacing through his body, outwards from his tightened chest.

He hated feeling useless.

Even worse, the only thing he _could_ do was wait on the stupid ice prick to come and save his helpless ass. With his adrenaline long gone and his body once more subject to all of the little pains and pinches that had previously been numbed, he couldn't do much with the strain that'd been put on his body during his near drowning and subsequent bout of CPR, his chest still feeling tight and achy every time he breathed.

And, as if that wasn't enough, the stuffy feeling was made worse by the fact that Lucy's fate was stuck in the hands of the ice bastard that'd shot her in the back and been an asshole to her ever since she'd started speaking to them.

Natsu wouldn't be surprised if Gray had thrown all caution to the wind and forgotten about protecting Lucy's secret in the midst of all this craziness. He'd surely contacted the council for help without even thinking about the consequences of what they would do if they found out about Lucy, and the mechanic might've even seen this circumstance as the perfect opportunity to do what he'd wanted to do since the second he'd found out about what the blonde was.

Gray _had_ wanted to turn her in to the council, after all.

The last thing on the pilot's list of things that were driving him insane was the guy that'd come to 'interrogate' them earlier. There was something eerily and annoyingly familiar about the metal-faced bastard, and Natsu would be damned if he didn't find out what it was, even if he had to break out of this cell to do it.

* * *

Gray bit the inside of cheek impatiently as he watched Juvia converse with the man she'd briefly introduced as Lyon, the leader of their band of refugees. He and Lucy had been seated across the table from the white haired man and translator in what looked to be an old dining hall for a few minutes now, quietly waiting for the pair to finish whatever it was they were discussing. Based on the looks he and the blonde were receiving every few sentences, Gray could only assume that _they_ were the topic of discussion.

The mechanic began to bounce his knee and drum his fingers on the metal of the long dining table they were seated at as time went on, both out of eagerness to get his crewmates back and out of nervousness.

Erza normally handled this type of thing, and the redhead often kept him and Natsu as far away as possible so that they couldn't sabotage the negotiations with their impulsiveness and hardheadedness. Gray liked to think that he was only impulsive and hardheaded when Natsu was involved, and, to his credit, he'd taken a fair portion of time to think over how he was going to handle this 'negotiation.' It was highly unlikely that these people would give out their trust so easily given their history with betrayal and captivity and what not, so he'd take it slow and steady to insure that, at the very least, they left the colony in good favor.

Though, if things started to go south and he got frustrated, Lucy would probably have to help him out with the slow and steady part of that plan.

He jumped when a hand suddenly landed on his leg, and his gaze whipped towards Lucy, the blonde urging him to stop his anxious knee-bouncing with her eyes.

She was doing it again. That thing she'd done earlier, after he'd landed the ship. He hadn't commented on it, but he sure as hell had noticed it. The transition from anxious to calm had been almost instantaneous the second she'd touched his shoulder, and it was the same feeling now as she rested a hand on his knee, the tension fading from his muscles and the reassurance that maybe everything would be okay working its way to the surface through the rest of his pessimistic, muddled thoughts.

There was definitely more to her than what she'd told them.

Juvia suddenly looked their way, switching to English to address them, "He wants to know why you're wearing a mask."

"It's a cultural thing," Gray spat as he pushed himself forward in his seat from where he'd been slouching, only realizing after the fact that his instinctive, heavily defensive response had probably drawn more attention to the subject rather than diverting it like he'd intended.

Juvia's eyes narrowed a fraction, "She wasn't wearing one earlier."

"I hit my nose when we landed," Lucy explained calmly, easily crafting truth and lies together to form a believable story. "I didn't want to get blood on it, so I took it off."

The blue haired girl stared at them skeptically for a few more moments before she looked back to her leader, explaining what they'd said in quiet tones.

Lucy shot a discrete glare at the mechanic, silently chastising him for the tone he'd used earlier. Words and phrases were sometimes lost in translation, but emotion was a universal language. If he kept it up, then their chances of forming a partnership with these people would disappear.

Gray only rolled his eyes and averted his gaze, not needing to be chastised by the likes of her to know that he needed to cool it.

The pair across the table turned their attention back to them, "Go ahead and get started. He wants to hear your reasoning. Just talk slow and pause after every sentence to give me time to translate."

"Shouldn't he already know why we're here?" Gray questioned, figuring that since he was the leader, Lyon had surely been notified when they'd arrived and, through Juvia, he'd probably been the one to give them the all-clear to dock after they'd explained the situation over their coms.

"I mean, he wants to know why you think we should help you," Juvia answered with a weighty breath, obviously a bit agitated. "What we have to gain, and all that."

Not wanting to jump the gun by proposing a full-on attack right off the bat and risk losing any chance they had receiving aid, Gray started with a more mild approach, speaking slowly and pausing every now and then like Juvia had asked of him, "You said so yourself. Those people are your friends and families. So maybe, if you help us reach out, we can make an agreement to get my friends back and you guys can go back to trying to live as one."

It looked like Juvia had a strong opinion on what he'd said, but she waited for Lyon's response to speak again.

Based on the white haired man's cold and sharp voice, Gray knew that his ploy hadn't earned him much favor, and Juvia's translation proved that assumption true.

"They're in favor of the alliance," she spat coldly as she translated. "Going back to the way things were isn't an option."

"Continuing to live like this isn't an option either," Lucy stated, her voice holding an edge, but still amiable and respectful. "You contacted us because you're suffering. If you keep living like this, you're all going to die."

As Juvia's voice echoed after Lucy's, the pace of her translating slowed and her voice faded out when she reached the end of the of the blonde's words.

Lucy swallowed heavily as looked over the blue haired girl's crestfallen features, Lyon's gaze falling to the table as the words hung in the air, void of a response, at least for the moment.

Gray could tell that their inevitable end was a truth they both were painfully aware of.

Rather than taking advantage of the vulnerability Lucy's words had issued, Gray felt that he should wait for the Amerans to continue the conversation when they were ready. The blonde had used just the right amount of assertiveness and blunt honesty, and Gray knew that prying too far into that would do more harm than good.

After a few moments, with his gaze still fastened to table, Lyon spoke quietly to Juvia out of the corner of his mouth, his focus lifting to the blonde and raven haired mechanic once the blue haired girl began translating.

"You have a ship," she professed, hope in her voice and irises. "One that could get all of us off of this planet. We could go somewhere new; make new lives."

Gray dejectedly shook his head, "We can't do anything for you if you plan on leaving. Personal feelings aside, we still work for the council. We were only supposed to come here to give you supplies. We're not capable of setting you up with new lives."

It'd been a large gamble, and it seemed as if Lyon and Juvia had known that when they'd asked, their features showing disappointment but not surprise.

He thought over what Juvia had told him earlier, after she'd first met him in the hallway. Based on the tone she'd used, he knew that what he was about to suggest was a sensitive topic, but he saw few other options.

"Look...this mission was only supposed to take a few hours, so the council is expecting us to report back soon." He paused to give Juvia time to translate, his voice shedding its former hesitance as he pressed, "Let us tell them about you guys. They could send us help, and we could take back your home."

He didn't miss the way Lucy curled into herself at the mention of the council getting involved in the situation, but he was more focused with the pair across the table.

Lyon rested his mouth on clasped hands as he thought, his brows furrowed.

Juvia's voice was tentative and slightly fearful as she gave them his response, "If we told the council…what would happen to everyone that supports the Alliance?"

"Depends," Gray huffed out. "Are they actually working for the Alliance, or have they just declared themselves as supporters?"

"As far as we know, there's been no contact," Juvia didn't bother translating, at least for the moment, using only her own knowledge to answer his question. "The Alliance lost interest in us when the war ended, and that hasn't changed. The Alliance probably doesn't even know that those people exist."

Gray was grateful that that was the case, answering her honestly, "Then the council would probably just detain them for a little while. If they prove themselves harmless, the council will still keep a close eye on them, but they'll be allowed to return to life as usual. The council really isn't all that interested in starting another war with the Alliance."

Lyon nodded in vindication as Juvia relayed the information to him, his voice gaining volume once more now that the topic of their discussion wasn't as grim.

The two exchanged a few words while Lucy and Gray watched on in silence, the speed and gravity of their voices giving the two the impression that the Amerans were elaborating on a plan.

Once they were done, Juvia's focus whipped back to Gray and Lucy, her voice sharp and demanding, "You can make your report, but this is how it's going to work: We want to settle things with the Alliance loyalists on our own terms, and we don't want the council interfering. So you're going to hold off until we've infiltrated the compound and gotten a hold on the situation. _Then_ you can make your report."

"Wait…" Gray started slowly, his brows furrowed as he shared a look with Lucy before shifting his glare back to the blue haired girl, "…you mean you were already planning on attacking them?"

"It's an option we've been considering for a long time, and now that you've just confirmed that our other options aren't entirely suited to our interests, we've decided on it. We've known for months that it's probably the only chance at survival and preservation we have if we don't want our people and culture to fade from existence."

"Why the hell didn't you just tell me that earlier?" the mechanic hissed. "This situation could've been handled a hell of a lot sooner."

"You're from the council," Juvia spat back, not an ounce of frailty in her expression or tone. "We figured that as soon as the council found out about the Balam loyalists, which they inevitably would have at one point or another, they'd march in and conquer us just like the Alliance did. We sent that transmission not only because we needed the supplies, but also because we wanted a chance to bargain with the council before our people were condemned to another lifetime of captivity."

Gray quirked a brow as he ground out, "So what do you want?"

"Even after we've secured control over the compound, the council will keep out of the situation," she emphasized, her tone sharp. "We'll be given the final say on what happens to those who supported the Alliance and we'll be allowed to rebuild our society by our own means. In return, once we've gotten back on our feet and stabilized, we'll give the council access to our planet's resources. If the council steps in a moment sooner than we want them to, the deals off and we'll deny them access."

"I thought you said you hated the council? Why would you willingly offer us your resources?"

"We want to save our people's lives. They may feel loyalty to the Alliance, but they're still our friends and families," she professed, the phrase near parallel to one she'd spoken in the hallway a few hours earlier, save for a few words.

Gray grit his teeth as he thought over the mass of information, and he almost asked for a few moments alone with Lucy to discuss the situation in private before making his decision.

But he knew from the pleading look Lucy was giving him what her decision was.

She wanted to help these people, and get his crewmates back in the process.

Gray didn't know if he had the right to pledge the council to such a bargain, but he figured there would be no harm in doing so since, in the end, the council would get what they wanted: Ameri's natural resources.

He let out a heavy sigh, shifting his body forward and resting his hand flat on the table to emphasize his own right to make demands.

"Then here are our terms: The two of us get to be there," he insisted, gesturing towards Lucy with his head. "The council may care about your resources, but I don't give a shit. Your leverage means nothing to me as long as those loyalists have two of my crewmates."

"They _may_ have two of your crewmates," Juvia pressed. "You don't even know if they're still alive."

"Yeah, well, the chance that they might be is good enough of a reason for me," Gray growled. He grit his teeth, "I'll make you a deal of my own: let us go along or I tell the council the truth about this planet right now. We fight together, or not at all."

Juvia gave him a hard stare for a few seconds longer before sharply turning to Lyon, filling the man in on all that had transpired while he'd watched in silent confusion.

Gray took the moment of reprieve as a chance to finally look over at Lucy. She'd been silent, too, since he'd first brought up the council, and he had a pretty good idea as to why such was the case. Her trust in the council was likely just as fragile as the Amerans' was, and the possibility of them getting involved in the situation was probably what had scared her into silence.

He expected to find her with her gaze downcast or with a glare on her features since those had been the most frequent looks she'd given him as of late, but to his surprise, she was already looking right back at him. There was something akin to admiration in her eyes, though he had no clue as to why.

He quirked a brow at her, and he could from her eyes that she was smiling beneath her mask, but before he could ask her what the hell was wrong with her, Juvia cleared her throat to garner her attention, both her and Lyon's expressions firm as she proclaimed, "We fight together."

* * *

Lucy fiddled with the upper edge of her makeshift mask as she followed Gray through the tunnel to their hanger, her skin itching beneath the fabric.

She and the mechanic had been allowed to go back to their ship for the night, but not without first being notified that their coms would be monitored and if they so much as tried to send a message to the council, their hanger would be sealed and flooded. Juvia had explained in detail how once she and Gray were trapped inside the ship, they'd be subject to the same tribulations her people had suffered in retaliation for betraying their bargain, their lives ending slowly with starvation and insanity.

It was a weighty threat, and probably not entirely plausible, but the blonde deemed it understandable given all the betrayal these people had suffered. They had little left, and every thought was subject to the feeling of wanting to protect those you held dear so intensely that you would do whatever you could, even if it was what you feared most.

It was a feeling she knew well.

She bit her lip as they started up the ramp into their ship, tentatively clearing her throat to draw Gray's attention before hesitantly asking, "So…what are we going to do?"

"I don't know what Lyon's plan is, but our chances of success really aren't that high," Gray remarked flatly, once more walking a few steps in front the blonde without glancing back at her. "The Balam sympathizers seem to have all the artillery since these guys had to flee in a hurry." Once the blonde had made it into the ship after him, he tapped the console to lift the ramp and seal the exit for the night, letting out a heavy sigh, "If we had some way of sneaking in, that'd make things a lot easier, but it's kind of hard to sneak into a secure, underwater facility."

Lucy dropped her gaze, pulling her mask down from over her mouth and nose and swiping her tongue across her lips as she fell into step behind the mechanic once more, though she wasn't sure where the raven haired boy was headed.

Following behind him just kind of felt like a habit now.

She thought about earlier, when Gray had so proudly and earnestly declared his will to get his friends back without hesitation. Loyalty and devotion to loved ones was something she admired in others, and it had been nice to see him speak and act out of fidelity rather than anger or spite for once.

She didn't want to fall behind, a newfound wave of confidence rushing over her as she suddenly found herself professing, "I could do it."

"What?" his steps slowed to a halt as he spun to face her, his brows furrowed.

"I know you haven't seen what I can do, but I'm sure I could help out with getting in somehow." She shrugged lightly, "Or, at the very least, I could provide more than enough of a distraction for the rest of you to get in and steal some weapons."

He held up a hand, incredulously laying out the situation as he saw it, "So, let me get this straight: You, someone who's on the run from the Alliance, wants to waltz right into a society full of people who support the Alliance and practically announce yourself and your superhuman capabilities?"

She vigorously shook her head, "They won't see me. That's the whole point." When he only continued to give her a blank, incomprehensive stare, she let out a heavy sigh, bluntly stating what she was getting at, "I can control light energy. That's how I took out that alien that attacked us a few days ago."

He stared at her in blank silence for a moment before bluntly blurting, "What?... _How_?"

"I have to be able to perceive light energy in order to absorb it and gain energy from it," she explained, trying to find the best wording to make her explanation comprehensible, "and being able to sense it-"

"What do you mean by 'perceive' light energy?" he cut her off, his expression giving away his downright confusion and disbelief. "That's all that sight is."

"It's…it's like a _sixth_ sense I guess," she huffed, frustration flowing through her at the difficultly of explaining something that just came so naturally to her. "I don't just see light, I can _feel_ it. And manipulate it. That's the way it works."

Seeing his narrowed eyes and still disbelieving expression, she decided to just move on to why she'd brought up her ability in the first place, "I could cause a diversion, both by concentrating light to make it bright enough to blind them or by dispersing it to make it dark enough for you to sneak past."

"I…" he scrambled for words, "Why the hell didn't you mention this sooner?"

The blonde rolled her eyes and sighed through her nose, pressing her lips into a thin line, "Because I thought that maybe Natsu had told you how I took out that alien so you already knew and the second I bring it up to anybody _but_ you is the second everyone finds out about what I am."

Her voice lost its force, her words escaping her with a lot more hesitation as she continued, "And…I'm not sure how it'll go for me. It's been a while since I…'ate,' or whatever…and if you want me to do what I just suggested, it's going to take a lot of energy."

"But…" Gray looked around, gesturing up at the light structures on the ceiling of the hallway with his hand, "…there's light all around us."

She swallowed heavily as she admitted, "Artificial light really isn't the best. _You_ might not be able to tell, but the flow of energy isn't continuous from lights like these. It's unsteady, which makes gathering enough energy hard. Stars are uninterrupted cascades of photons, so they're best source of energy. That's why I spent so much time in the greenhouse."

His gaze found the floor, his voice tentative, "Then...what'll happen to you?"

"Same thing that happens to you when you run out of energy," she shrugged. "After I've caused the distraction, I'll probably pass out, which leaves me vulnerable in the middle of enemy territory."

"Then…you don't have to do this," Gray shrugged, looking uncharacteristically worried and flustered. "It sounds like Lyon and Juvia already have a plan, so you could just stay here and not even risk-"

"No. I'm going to help you save Natsu and Erza," Lucy proclaimed. Her cheeks puffed as she gave him a grin, traces of uncertainty lingering in her irises but her voice full of strength as she professed, "We'll figure something out. Like Juvia said: We fight together."

* * *

 **AN**

 **Heeeellllooo again! Sorry for the lack of Natsu and Erza in this chapter. I mean, they're just chilling in a jail cell, so...there wasn't too much I could do with them. Next chapter is when all of the action starts, and there will probably only be about two or three more chapters before we're moving on the to the next arc! Yay!**

 **You guys have no idea how much I want to answer some of your questions, but I shall restrain myself since a lot of them will be answered later, like the name of the ship and what not. Just know that yes, I do have a name for the ship, but it'll be introduced later. As for the existence of English and whether or not this fic takes place in our galaxy,** **I can tell you a little bit about it now, but the full answer will come later as well! Languages have always fascinated me, and I think that they're one topic science fiction doesn't spend enough time exploring and exploiting, so when I started writing this story, I was set (and still am set) on giving the many languages that would exist in a galaxy such as this one a prevalent presence. In the first few chapters, you might've noticed that used terms like 'our language' when it came to the characters thinking about the language they were speaking, and doing that drove me a bit insane because I hated the sound of it. So, after much deliberation, I decided to just give up on the ambiguity and decided that the characters would be speaking the language the fic was written in just to make things easy on both me and you. So there you have it, a partial answer as to why I'm mentioning English so much...but there is still more on that to come later ;)**

 **As always, thank you for reading and thank you for your continued support! I'd love to hear your thoughts, predictions, critiques, etc!**


	8. Chapter 8

Gray bit the inside of his cheek and folded his arms over his chest as he leaned back in his chair, his knee beginning to bounce anxiously without Lucy there to forcefully calm his nerves with whatever magic voodoo she'd used on him earlier. His eyes were fastened to the blue haired girl that sat across from him, her gaze glued to the tablet on the surface of the table before her as she read over something, probably a map or an infiltration plan.

After their somewhat heated exchange during their 'negotiation' the previous day, the mechanic wasn't quite sure how he felt about calling Juvia and the rest of her people his allies. And she didn't seem too fond of him either, really, but since she was the only person he _could_ talk to at the moment, he didn't really have a choice but to go to her when he needed someone to answer his questions.

Of course, he supposed he could talk to Lucy, too, but she couldn't provide the answers he desired.

Besides, the blonde had still been fast asleep the last time he'd checked on her, something that'd caused him to quirk a brow. He wasn't quite sure when she'd gone to bed, but if she'd fallen asleep sometime soon after they'd parted ways last night, then she'd be going on ten hours of sleep now. He chalked her lengthy rest up to being caused by what she'd been talking about last night, how she could only 'feed' off of natural light. There was certainly none of that to be found at the bottom of the ocean, and although Gray still wasn't entirely sure how her whole 'photosynthesis' thing worked, he felt like it was only logical for him to conclude that she was running on limited energy.

If so, she could sleep all she wanted, because she'd need all of the energy she could get during their rescue operation later if she was going to create a diversion like she'd pledged she would.

Since Gray was kind of stuck with Juvia and her with him, he figured he could at least make use of the time by figuring out how he could coordinate his and Lucy's efforts with the Amerans, starting with the basics as he continued to stare in her direction, "So…how many of you guys are there?"

Juvia glanced up at him and bit her lip, hesitating for a moment as if deciding on whether or not she would give him an answer before she quickly muttered, "Only nineteen."

Gray's eyes widened, but he didn't have to ask the question for Juvia to answer. The blue haired girl already knew what he wanted to know.

"I know…Our numbers are few…" Her gaze fell back to the tablet in her hands, her voice strained with underlying sorrow as she explained, "There were once a lot of people like us; people that didn't agree with what the Alliance was doing. We think that the loyalists may be holding some people captive, but…starvation took care of the rest."

Gray gave her a subtle nod, letting her know that he understood and she didn't have to press herself any further. He cleared his throat, still leaning back in his seat with his arms folded over his chest as he asked, "What about the sympathizers? How many of them are left?"

"It's hard to know for sure," Juvia shrugged lightly. "Some of those who died in the initial takeover took a few of the loyalists with them. There's probably around forty of them left. Fifty at most."

Gray bit his lip in thought as he nodded, "If we catch 'em by surprise, then we might actually be able to pull this off. How are you guys planning on sneaking in?"

"The same way we snuck out," she answered simply, her focus going back to her tablet.

There was silence for a moment as Gray waited for her to explain, but it seemed she had no intention of doing so without him asking. A heavy sigh slipped through his lips as he had to bother with dragging the information out of her rather than her giving it to him freely, leaning forward to rest his forearms on the table as he pressed with a tight grin, "And how would that be?"

"Neoprene diving suits," she boasted. "Lyon and I were working on them before the takeover with tech we'd received from imports. We snuck out of the compound through an old mining tunnel, one that had been abandoned because it'd been flooded with water. Then we made our way here.

"As far as we know," she continued, "the loyalists aren't aware that the suits exist. We knew that something bad was coming, so we worked on them in secret."

"How'd you pull that off?"

"Trade agreements were my job before we had to flee since most of those whom we traded with spoke English and I was one of few who could speak it. I ordered a few extra materials here and there, not enough to be noticeable, and over the course of a few months, we had what we needed." Her lips quirked in a bitter grin, "The loyalists probably aren't operating too well without me and the others right now. Everyone who worked in trade is either dead or here, so they'll be low on supplies."

Gray still wasn't entirely over his surprise that she'd managed such a thing, but he supposed it made since that a lot of things would go unnoticed by other Amerans when their economy and society was in the state of shambles that it was after they were abandoned by the Alliance.

"We'll sneak in using the suits, and once we've managed to steal a few of their weapons, we'll try to subdue them and take control. Without hurting anyone, if possible."

For the moment, Gray chose to ignore the volatility of such a plan; how easily things could go wrong when there was so much that was uncertain. "And, let me guess," he let out a heavy sigh, already anticipating her answer, "You only have nineteen suits."

She nodded her head, looking slightly apologetic, "We've already told you that we'll let you and your friend come along, but when it comes to finding a way into the compound, you're on your own."

Gray had already anticipated that such would be the case and thought over his and Lucy's limited options.

If they used their ship, they'd be spotted on radar from miles away. And, even if they made it close, the chances of them being able to dock in a hanger so they could enter the compound were nearly zero.

He'd have to check up on the durability of their EVA suits to see if they were useable underwater as they were their only other option now that the jumper was gone. Swimming in them would certainly be a challenge, particularly for Lucy since she couldn't swim in the first place, and the blonde would have to use one that was fitted to either Natsu or Erza since that was all that was on their ship.

But he wasn't going to settle on any decision until he could talk to Lucy. For all he knew, she had some other super-secret and helpful ability that she'd yet to tell him about.

In the meantime, he went back to something Juvia had mentioned before, the very thing that allowed them to speak to one another now, "So…how do you know English?"

She stared at him in harsh silence for a few moments, her internal debate of whether or not to tell him visible in her eyes, the rest of her expression frozen blank.

After a few moments, she exhaled slowly, her eyes dropping and her bottom lip retreating between her teeth before she quickly swiped her tongue across her lips and began, "After the Alliance abandoned us when they'd been defeated, we immediately started scavenging the wreckage of the starships that crashed here during the war for supplies. I was only ten at the time, but I was one of our best divers, so I got to go along.

"In one of those ships, we found a room that hadn't been breached and was still filled with air. The blast doors had been sealed when the ship had started to go down, and somehow, a boy had survived the crash and the month after. I learned English from him and he learned Ameran from me."

She was obviously giving him the shortened version, but Gray didn't mind. He didn't need a full blown narrative to get the gist of what had happened, and if that was all that Juvia wanted to tell him, he wasn't going to bother with asking for more than he was curious to know.

"And what happened to him?" the mechanic quirked a brow, knowing that the person she spoke of wasn't here, otherwise Juvia wouldn't have introduced herself as the only person in the compound who spoke English. "Where is he now?"

She swallowed heavily, her gaze falling to the table and her voice forcefully sharp and defensive as she spat, "He's gone."

Her words, accompanied by the pained look in her eyes, gave him the feeling that one of two cases was true: the person she spoke of was dead, or worse, he was one of the loyalists, and therefore their enemy.

At the thought, he decided to change the topic before things got too grim, not that they weren't grim already.

"So I guess the rumors aren't true," Gray huffed with a bit of disappointment, leaning back in his seat once more. At the quirk of her brow, he explained, "People tell stories about how Amerans can breathe underwater naturally."

Amusement tugged at the corners of her lips as she rolled her eyes, "I think humankind's intelligence is far too advanced now. I'm sure you know as well as I do that when faced with a new environment, it's more likely that adaptation will lead to an evolution in technology rather than biology."

He pursed his lips and nodded lightly in agreement, more to himself than her.

"So…" Juvia started tentatively, curiosity in her gaze, "…People care enough about us to spread rumors?"

"I guess 'rumors' isn't the right word…more like 'speculations,'" he shrugged. "I did some research after my friends' ship went down. Everything I know about you, I only found out because I had to search for it. Before this mission, I'd never even heard of this planet."

"So that's the way things are now, is it?" she huffed bitterly, turning her gaze to the side. "We used to be one of the most successful mining planets there was. Though, I suppose our popularity was once attributed to the materials we provided for the crafting of ships and weapons for war."

"After the war," Gray started heavily, "people don't care really care about other people and other planets. They only look after themselves. For all they care, everyone else could go and rot. That's what war turned them into." He folded his arms over his chest once more, a little sneer tugging at the edges of his lips, "It's disgusting, really."

A short, bitter laugh slipped through her lips in a breath, her eyes quickly swiveling his way, "You don't seem to be much different."

He narrowed his eyes in her direction and furrowed his brows.

"I overheard how you talked to that blonde girl earlier, when you were exiting your ship's hanger," she earnestly obliged his confusion without an ounce of remorse or restraint. "The way I see it, she's the only person you've got on your side right now. The way you talked to her…it was pretty disgusting. Unless that's how you treat all of your friends."

A pang shot through Gray's chest, and the first of the many emotions raging inside of him was anger. His voice was charged as he hissed, "She's not my friend."

"Then what is she?" Juvia questioned without missing a beat.

"It's none of your business."

"I told you something about me. It's only fair that you do the same."

"We've already made a deal," he spat. "Sharing our pasts wasn't part of it."

She fixed him with a hard glare, pressing her lips into a thin line, "Then don't expect me to tell you anything else." She switched off the tablet in her hands and gathered the rest of her things off of the table, throwing a few last words over her shoulder before she left him alone in the room, "We're leaving in two hours, with or without you and your 'friend.'"

* * *

Gray's steps were heavy, but sharp as he charged up the ramp of their ship. His earlier thoughts aside, Lucy was getting up now whether she liked it or not. They needed to figure out their own plan now that he knew the basics of what the Amerans were going to do, and they only had two hours to make a decision and prepare to act, so there was no time to spare.

While his, Natsu's, and Erza's quarters were all adjacent to one another in the front of the ship, the blonde's was quite a bit down the hallway, more towards the back of the ship, in the midst of the six rooms that weren't currently in use. The surplus of living space was meant for the bridge and communications staff, medics, mechanics, and engineers that a ship of this size normally required, but just the three of them had managed to cover every position they needed, except for the role of medic of course, but they had a med bay full of scanners and medication that substituted for that.

They'd originally placed the blonde there so that they wouldn't have to house a stranger so close to their own quarters, but now, it made his trek to her room easier, and he was soon pounding on the blast door without restraint.

It took her a few moments before the door slid open, and he was greeted by a puffy-eyed, yawning Lucy.

He didn't bother with saying 'good morning,' nor did he acknowledge how tired she still looked, instead cutting straight the chase with a heavy sigh, "Good news. You don't have to cause a diversion."

By the time he'd finished, she seemed more awake, her eyes more alert and something akin to relief pattering across her lips in a subtle grin. She opened her mouth to say something, but he spoke again before she got the chance.

"Now, for the bad news," he pressed on, not wanting to get her hopes too high about their rescue mission when a new challenge had presented itself. "We have to swim to get in. The Amerans have an abandoned tunnel system that flooded a few years back. They used that to sneak out, and they're gonna sneak in the same way."

She stared at him in blank silence for a moment before she numbly muttered, "But…I don't know how to swim."

" _I know_ ," he hissed, trying to spur her into action and helpfulness. He needed to figure things out, not waste more time by freaking out over the unfairness of the situation, "Look, I guess since we don't need you to cause a diversion, you don't have to co-"

"No. I'm going," she professed, sharply cutting him off and now seeming fully awake and ready for action. Before he could offer any word of protest, she insisted, "If I'm not there, the Amerans might get suspicious. Once they've all left for the other compound, no one's going to be here to monitor the coms, and they could suspect us of trying to contact the council." Her voice lost a bit of its edge, but none of its resilience, "Besides, I already told you that I _want_ to go. I'm helping you get your crewmates back."

Gray gave her a hard stare before his lips quirked in the tiniest smirk, "Alright. Then you better suit up."

* * *

"Stupid sea-people. Stupid Alliance. Stupid water. Stupid everything!"

Erza rolled her eyes as her cellmate continued to pace at the front of their cell, his voice low as he grumbled complaint after complaint to himself.

"Stupid bars!" He gripped two of the metal poles and throttled them as he raged, "Who even uses prison bars in this day and age anyways?! You guys are a bunch of fucking idiots!"

" _Natsu_ ," Erza hissed, fixing him with a glare. "Cool it."

Still holding onto the bars, he whipped his gaze over his shoulder to give her his own heated glare.

" _Now_ ," she ground out, not at all phased by his blazing irises.

He held out for a moment more before he shoved himself away from the bars with an angry grunt, plopping himself back against the wall he'd been leaning against for the better part of their time in the cell.

Erza took a moment to drag in a deep inhale, her voice softer than it had been before as she started, "Remember: you're injured. You might've forgotten because you can't feel them, but you have a puncture wound in your shoulder and your ribs are broken. The jumper getting destroyed and my CPR definitely didn't make them any better, and I don't think you slept at all last night."

The way he turned his head to the side and grumbled to himself, with his arms crossed over his chest, confirmed her suspicions.

She let out a heavy sigh, "Just take it easy until Gray gets here. Then, you can fight like hell."

* * *

Gray grunted as he all but yanked Lucy from the water by gripping under her arms from behind, the blonde weakly trying to aid his cause by pressing back against the ground with her feet. They were the last two to exit the water, though the Amerans paid them little mind as the mechanic released his hold on the blonde before yanking off his helmet and dropping it to the floor to get his first real breath of air.

The Amerans had taken everyone to the entrance of the flooded tunnel in one of their own ships, leaving it behind on the ocean floor while everyone exited through the airlock to swim through the gap that led into the mines.

The fact that the passage had once been a mine had allowed Gray and Lucy the benefit of being able to walk rather than being forced to swim, though the simple task became incredibly painstaking since they were having to do so through water. The flippered feet of the Amerans' diving suits had allowed them to move with much more ease, but they still proceeded with caution due to the narrowness and twisting of the passage, moving slowly so as not to get lost in the maze of tunnels that branched off in every direction.

They'd finally surfaced in an air pocket, and Juvia had told Gray that after a brief trek through a few more tunnels, they'd be able to gain access to one of the many places where the mines met the compound.

Finally. They were actually making progress towards getting Natsu and Erza back.

The mechanic stripped himself of his EVA suit, taking a moment to discretely insure that his twin blasters were still successfully tucked in the waist band of his pants and concealed by his shirt. He supposed he could've told the rest of the Amerans about the stash of weapons they had on their ship, but he feared that if he had, he'd never get their weapons back, or worse, the Amerans would turn on him and Lucy.

"You alright?" he huffed out to the blonde who was still hunched over on her hands and knees on the ground beside him, her helmet tossed aside but the rest of her suit still clinging to her body. She'd worn Erza's red suit since it was definitely more suited to her build than Natsu's was, but it was still much too long for her, the suit bunching at her wrists and ankles.

"I…Yeah. Just give me a second," she quietly breathed through the mask she'd secured around her head once more, tugging her hood over her hair before anyone could see.

He crouched down to be closer to her, keeping his eyes on the Amerans as he lowered his voice, "Don't let anyone see your blaster. And stick close to me."

"You already told me that."

At his sharp glare, she bit back her spite with a roll of her eyes before grinding out, "Got it."

The of heavy panting and rustling of suits as they came off was interrupted by a sharp whisper from Lyon, and a group of eight Amerans, led by the same pink haired girl that been conversing with Juvia earlier, began sneaking down a tunnel that branched off from where they'd surfaced.

Gray leaned towards Juvia, who was still ridding herself of her suit, "Where's he sending them?"

The tiniest hint of a smug smile tugged at the blue haired girl's lips, not even glancing his way as she answered, "To get reinforcements."

He brushed aside the questions that popped into his head at her words, instead asking something that pertained to those who were still in the tunnel, "And where are we headed?"

"Weapons are our first priority. Then, we take over the control room."

* * *

The deep groan of metal shifting shook the compound while the lights flashed a few times before blinking out entirely, cloaking the cell block in near darkness save for the emergency lights that flickered to life on the ceiling.

Natsu used the wall at his back to help him get to his feet, wrapping an arm over his middle and holding his ribs, which had begun to ache the second Erza had reminded him about them, as he huffed, "What was that?"

"Power's out," the redhead had already shot to grip the bars and peer beyond, a grin full of anticipation tugging at her lips as her focus briefly whipped towards him, "Get ready. We're getting out of here."

* * *

Gray cast a look over his shoulder to where Lucy was pressed against the wall behind him as the lights flickered before going out, the blonde's eyes going wide and her hand shooting to make sure her mask was still fully covering her cheeks since her markings would glow more brightly in the dark.

Hell, he hoped that that was part of the plan, because if they weren't on alert already, the loyalists would certainly take up arms now that the compound had gone dark.

The pair was with Lyon, Juvia, and the nine Amerans who remained after the other eight had parted ways with them in the tunnels earlier. They'd succeeded in pillaging the weapons room without being seen, Gray taking another blaster and forcing one into Lucy's hands so as not to appear suspicious to the people that surrounded them. The mechanic attributed their success in stealing arms to the fact that the loyalists probably weren't expecting an attack from within and had therefore left the room unguarded.

In fact, they hadn't encountered _anyone_ yet, and Gray hoped it stayed that way for as long as possible. Lyon was aiding that cause at the front of their group, his blaster held at the ready as he signaled for everyone to stop and go with his hands before and after checking that their path was clear.

Gray couldn't help the pout that settled on his lips.

Usually, _he_ was the one at the lead, checking around corners and making sure the coast was clear. Natsu was too reckless and impulsive to do something so discrete, and Erza preferred to watch their backs, so the task had always fallen to him. Now that he was getting some experience at what if felt like to be in the middle of the group, he hated it. He wanted to know what lay ahead and what was coming, not to be constantly gripped by the anxiety of the unknown.

The tone of whispers that floated from Lyon back towards him and Lucy gave him the feeling that they were getting close to the control room, so he tightened his grip on his blaster as he silently followed the rest forward, keeping a vigilant eye on the hallways that intersected with the one they were traveling down.

He had to keep reminding himself that the Amerans who were against the Allliance had lived here before they'd been forced out, and it was practically their home. It made sense that they knew exactly where the easiest routes rested and in what areas their enemies might be congregated.

Lyon held up his hand to bring the group to a halt just before they rounded a corner, and Gray knew that they had reached their destination as the Amerans readied themselves.

There had to be dozens of people in the control room with all of the sounds that were being made and all of the voices that were shouting over one another, and it was then that Gray realized why the power had been cut before they'd made it to their goal.

The seemingly sudden power outage would likely send everyone in the compound rushing to the same place to check their systems, which meant that they could easily be taken out all at once.

Lyon cast his people one last look at his people before giving them the signal to charge, their weapons held at the ready.

The fight for control had begun.

* * *

As the bars of the cells withdrew into the floor, the cellblock erupted into a state of chaos, and although Natsu had no idea what anyone was saying, he could tell that the chaos wasn't necessarily the bad kind. He watched as a woman tearfully embraced a sobbing teen who'd just been released from the cell adjacent to his and Erza's, their similar shades of pink hair giving him the feeling that the two girls were related.

He hadn't even realized that there were other people imprisoned in the cellblock with him and Erza since he hadn't heard a single sound, though he supposed that maybe the cells were more advanced than he'd thought. There were at least thirty people in the block now, all searching, reuniting, and hurriedly exchanging a few words.

There was suddenly a pained shriek from the entrance of the cellblock, and only moments later, everyone in the hall was rushing the other way.

Erza stood firm against the tide of people, her gaze fastened in the direction everyone was running from as she shouted to her crewmate, "What the hell's happening?!"

Somehow, Natsu managed to snag a weapon from one of the people that had released them as she ran past, the girl's glare finding him for a moment before she caught sight of the grin spreading his lips and decided that running away was the better option. The sudden burst of adrenaline brought Natsu back to his game of puns as he tossed the handle of the sword he'd stolen in Erza's direction and jeered, "Don't get crabby! Get stabby!"

There were people charging into the cellblock, trying to catch those who had released the prisoners and those who had escaped alike. Some were taking up arms against them, but most began to flee if they hadn't already.

A head of black hair stood tall over the crowd, and Natsu snarled in recognition, punching a guy in the face before his feet carried him in the direction of the man who'd 'interrogated' them earlier.

"Natsu!" Erza called, her eyes briefly finding him in the chaos as she slammed her sword handle against an enemy's temple, "We need to stick together! Where are you going?!"

He grit his teeth, charging through the enemy lines and taking people down as he went in order to get where he wanted, "To get some fucking answers!"

* * *

Lucy hung back by the arch that lead into the control room, panic brewing in her chest as the conflict unfolded before her.

Juvia had forcefully reminded her and Gray that they were to keep the injuries on the other side to a minimum, and she'd checked that their weapons were set to 'stun' so as to increase the chances of everyone emerging with as few injuries as possible.

But now that they were here, in battle, she could see that anyone emerging unharmed was a rather far-fetched wish.

The fact that they all had weapons and nearly none of their loyalists did made the outcome of the confrontation seem indisputable. But when there were as many consoles and control boards in the room as they were, there were a lot of places to duck for cover, and the second shots had been fired, almost everyone in the room had dropped to the floor.

These were people who had grown up and lived through war, so of course they'd have the instincts and skills to survive and fight back.

After the initial rain of energized bursts, blasters were knocked from the hands that held them, bodies were tackled to the floor, and fists met flesh.

They were getting overwhelmed.

Juvia had said that the Amerans who were against the council still viewed the sympathizers as friends and family, but the loyalists clearly didn't hold the same beliefs and standards, their fists and feet burying into the Amerans with a brutality that the blonde hadn't seen in years.

They were going to lose. That was much was apparent to her.

Lucy's eyes went wide as she scanned over the conflict, her focus passing over Gray and Juvia, who remained close to her, each taking on their own opponent. She watched the man fighting against Gray fall after the mechanic had pressed the tip of his blaster against his chest and shot him straight on, her mind racing to come up with some way she could contribute since she knew she couldn't fight another person one-on-one like Gray had.

Her experience was with fighting monsters, not people.

The only light that remained was that which came from the emergency lights, and although making it completely dark would successfully blind their enemies, she wouldn't be helping out her comrades much either.

That meant she only had one option.

There wasn't much light energy to manipulate here, which meant that she'd have to pull and transform some of the remaining energy she had out of herself. She'd surely pass out, but she trusted that Gray wouldn't let anything to happen to her, even if he was only watching after her because he was afraid of what Natsu and Erza would do to him if he let her get hurt.

Her gaze whipped towards Juvia as the girl felled her opponent with a kick to the temple, her hands finding purchase on the blue haired girl's arm and her fingers digging into her flesh as she hurriedly pressed, "Tell everyone to close their eyes and duck their heads! Now!"

Gray's eyes widened as he overheard her cry and realized what she was planning while the blue haired girl sharply spat, "Why?! We'll be killed!"

"Just do it!" Lucy urged.

"Trust her!" Gray hissed, gripping the girl's wrist and practically tugging her to the floor with him.

Juvia grit her teeth and gave them each one last hard stare before allowing herself to be yanked to the floor and pressing her palm against the device in her ear before hissing the order over her coms.

The blonde's gaze swept over the room once more, making sure that her comrades wouldn't be harmed by what she was about to do. She admired the trust the Amerans had in their leader as they gave up their individual battles and dropped to their knees, wrapping their arms around their heads and closing their eyes as they had been told while their enemies remained standing, going wide-eyed at the sudden change in their opponents.

Lucy took a deep breath to prepare herself and closed her eyes before she began, reaching both outwards and in for energy.

The world around her went white while her own world went black.

* * *

 **AN**

 **I write this as I head off to take not one, not two, but _three_ two hour college finals. If I don't update again, its means I died...**

 **Anyways, hope y'all enjoyed. Next chapter will pick up right where this one left off. Also, I hope you don't mind that I'm changing Juvia's character, but know that she will begin to be a bit more like herself in coming chapters after some stuff happens. I'm also not entirely sure how scientifically correct all of this stuff with Lucy is, because, believe it or not, there's not that much research about photosynthesizing humans. So I hope the way I'm explaining how I think a person with her abilities would work makes sense.**

 **Question: Would y'all like me to post a picture of what I'm imagining for the layout of the ship? The ship is going to be fundamental to the plot, and I just feel like it's too boring to take up time to write the layout into the story and it doesn't really fit well anywhere without seeming out of place. And I'm not sure how many people will remember anyways, so would that be something you guys would be interested in seeing?**

 **As always, thanks for reading! I hope to hear your thoughts!**


	9. Chapter 9

The sudden light that had enveloped the room never entirely faded, but as soon as he could open his eyes without feeling like he was going to go blind, Gray lifted his head from where it'd been ducked beneath his arms and took a look around.

He kept low to the floor, unsure of whether it was safe to expose himself yet when there were still enemies so close by. Though, what state those enemies were in now that Lucy had unleashed her power upon them was questionable.

Upon opening his eyes, the first sight he saw was that of a blonde braid snaking across the ground in front of him, and as his eyes moved further upwards, he found Lucy's limp body collapsed before him. He hadn't even heard her fall over the sound of whatever it was that she'd done, the burst and following screams drowning out all other noise.

He hurriedly crawled to kneel by her side, grabbing onto one of her shoulders and shaking her gently as he called, "Lucy. Hey." She was still very visibly breathing, but she was pale, and her mask had slipped free of her nose, revealing that the lights on her face were completely dimmed, as if they weren't even there and only flesh spanned her cheeks and chin.

She'd told him that she would probably pass out, but trying to wake her up was at least worth a shot. There were still anywhere between twenty and thirty loyalists remaining in the compound, and her abilities would probably come in handy with taking them down, too.

But she wouldn't even so much as flinch, her eyes staying shut and her body lying limp.

"What are these?"

Gray's focus slowly shifted upwards as the words of wonder slipped through Juvia's lips, his eyes widening a small fraction and his breath escaping him in a small puff.

It seem that all of the light Lucy had somehow generated had coalesced into tiny, white orbs that looked like miniature stars, the balls hanging stagnant in the air and illuminating the room in a gentle glow that grew even softer as they faded. His attention had been so immediately focused on Lucy that he hadn't noticed the tiny lights before, though he was glad that he'd gotten the chance to see them before they'd dispersed entirely.

They lit the room as Lyon and his people moved to deal with the loyalists that had collapsed to the floor, hands to their eyes and pain in their breaths. Their squirming and pained sounds were put an end as they were hit with stunning blast, and the room went nearly silent.

"It's…warm," Juvia reached out to gently prod one of the orbs with the tip of her finger, her focus turning to the unconscious blonde after the tiny light simply broke apart and shimmered into nothingness, "Did _she_ do this?"

"I…yeah," he breathed, still in disbelief himself. What Lucy had done shouldn't be possible, but, like always, there was no evidence to rebuke what had happened.

"How?" Juvia breathed quietly, her brows furrowed in awe.

"I have no clue," he whispered, casting a look down at the blonde himself.

She'd always looked fragile to him, especially now that she was unconscious. But damn, could she pull her own weight and then some, her capabilities going far beyond anything he'd ever imagined a person being capable of.

Actually, there were a lot of things about her that went beyond his imagination, but her ability to control light definitely took the top spot.

It looked like she'd taken down somewhere between fifteen and twenty men and women, but he didn't have time to count, the sound of footsteps and shouts reaching his ears from the hallway outside of the room.

If they hadn't drawn attention to the control room with the power outage and all of their shooting earlier, then they'd certainly earned themselves a lot of attention now with that blast of light in the midst of a facility that was entirely dark.

The mechanic gathered Lucy's limp body in his arms, knowing full well that there would be more enemies upon them soon. She'd collapsed just inside the doorway, definitely not the prime place to lie vulnerable in the midst of an attack.

Lyon held his blaster at the ready and called for his people to rally, the rest of the Amerans following suit and rushing to put up a front on either side of their leader as two words rushed from his mouth in an order.

Gray was left to retreat behind them with the unconscious blonde in his arms, not wanting to risk putting her down somewhere so he could join the fight only to have to make a quick escape later and get caught up in trying to return to her, further risking injury to them both. It was up to him to protect her now, and although he still had his doubts about her, this whole ordeal with losing Natsu and Erza had proven to him that she was, at the very, very least, deserving of his tolerance and basis of trust. Hell, she'd pushed herself into unconsciousness to help him get his crewmates back, because that was the end goal of all this, and if the unconscious Balam supporters didn't show where her loyalties lied, then he didn't know what else would.

At least, if Juvia's earlier speculations were true, they'd already taken out nearly half of the sympathizers, or rather _Lucy_ had practically taken them all out on her own. And now, thanks to her, they had a hold on the one room that operated the entire facility. Their chances of success were growing steadily higher, and all that remained was to search out and contain the sympathizers that remained.

Some of those sympathizers were making their task easier by coming to them, and as the first trickled into sight through the doorframe, they were met with the same fate as the other loyalists, their bodies dropping to the floor as they were blasted.

* * *

Natsu let out a mix of a grunt and a battle cry as he swung the loose pipe he'd picked up somewhere along his charge through the enemy lines, knocking the last of his immediate opponents across the head and sending their body crumpling to the floor.

He'd finally made it to the end of the cellblock, and with a quick glance behind him, he was met with a trail of about seven unconscious bodies. Most everyone who'd been in the space only minutes before had succeeded in evacuating the premise once things had started to go south, even Erza. He knew she'd gone off to cover the retreat of both those who had been released and those who had come to save them, because even if she'd been the one to demand that they stick together, helping those who were incapable of protecting themselves was always their priority.

The only other people that remained in the cellblock, well, the only other _conscious_ people that remained were the man he was after and the same pink haired girl he'd seen before, the one that had been in the cell adjacent to his and Erza's. The older woman she'd embraced was lying unconscious on the floor a few feet away, blood smeared across her forehead from an obvious blow to the temple. The teen's wrist was caught in the grasp of the man with the studded face, his features pulled back in a sneer as he snarled something in Ameran into the teen's terrified face.

"Hey!" Natsu chucked the spare pipe he'd used to knock his last opponent unconscious, missing the pair by a long shot, but at least diverting the black haired mans' attention from the girl in his grasp as the pipe clinked against the wall behind them. He let go of her wrist and she collapsed to the floor, unable to keep herself standing.

As the man began to stalk towards him, stepping over the unconscious bodies of his enemies and own comrades alike, Natsu had to bend forward and rest his hands on his knees, suddenly heaving for air. He was feeling unusually short of breath, like his chest couldn't fully expand so he was left to rapidly huff in and out what little air he could. He normally wasn't this tired after a fight, even after taking out so many, but he felt like he was ready to topple over at any second, the thrumming of his head calling for unconsciousness.

Why did his head hurt so much? And why was he chasing after this guy again?

Oh…right. He knew him from somewhere…didn't he? He couldn't really think straight past the sudden bought of drowsiness that was tugging at the edges of his consciousness, so maybe he didn't know this guy after all, and that feeling of familiarity had just been a byproduct of him going insane.

Either way, he wasn't leaving until he knew for sure, even though he knew he was probably on the brink of passing out.

So he forced himself to stand back up to his full height and pushed through his pounding headache to fix the man with the best glare he could muster as he huffed, "You're…you're gonna give me some answers. Even if…even if I hafta…hafta beat them out of ya."

The red-eyed man let out something akin to a snort, clearly amused and not at all threatened as he quirked a brow and chuckled, "You really think you're capable of that, pinky?"

The man was right in front of him now, standing tall and leering down at him as if to intimidate him by just his slight height advantage alone, but Natsu wasn't all that concerned. It wasn't often that he got to fight hand to hand, but he was no stranger to the technique of direct combat. Erza had made sure of that. The training room on their ship wasn't just for show and weapon storage, after all.

Like it often was for others, underestimation was this guy's blind spot.

The man's head snapped backwards as Natsu quickly drove his left elbow into the center of his face, the pilot quickly following the first blow with a right hook to the jaw before the man could recover.

Showing that he hadn't been prepared for the onslaught at all, he actually stumbled back a bit, landing in a crouch with one of his hands placed on the floor to steady himself.

Natsu didn't let himself give in to the urge to laugh aloud, instead widening his stance and raising his fists in preparation as the man's head slowly turned back in his direction.

A sneer crueler than any he'd showcased before twisted his studded features, a growl bursting through his lips before he lunged at the pilot.

* * *

Gray ducked down as a blast hit the top of console he'd taken cover behind, curling his body protectively around Lucy's as the shots continued to rain down in their direction.

He'd decided that Juvia's estimate of there being around fifty sympathizers left was the most accurate of all the numbers she'd given him, because there were still enough left to stand against their mere nine now that two of their comrades had been knocked unconscious in the fight for the control room.

Lucy was down for the time being, too, and her limp body kept Gray out of the fight, though it was growing progressively harder for him to stick to the mindset of protecting her. Sitting idly by when he knew he could do something wasn't a feeling he could easily tolerate, his body buzzing with the need to jump into action as he sat crouched behind one of the control room's consoles with the blonde half in his arms and half on the floor.

He risked a peek over the top of the console again, finding that the fight had once more resorted mostly to hand-to-hand combat. There had to be at least another fifteen sympathizers that were engaged in battle with the other Amerans while another six had been taken down by blasts during their first charge through the door.

And while they weren't being completely overwhelmed like they had been during their last skirmish, Gray could see that some of the friendly Amerans were struggling with downing their opponents. They'd already endured one fight while their enemies' drives were fresh and untarnished, and unlike the last battle, these sympathizers had come more ready for a fight, knowing that something was amiss.

Gray had lost the blaster he'd picked up from the compound's weapon room sometime between now and when Lucy had unleashed that burst of light, but he still had the two he'd brought with him from their own ship. He knew that if he used them, he'd be able to take down a good portion of their remaining loyalists, even with all of the friendly Amerans caught in the midst of the enemy.

His aim was something he could boast about, just like his engineering capabilities.

The only thing stopping him was Lucy, but as he cast another glance over the console at the fight, his mind was made up. Protecting her like he was now would mean nothing if their comrades were overrun and they were found out anyways, and then everything would have been for nothing. Their enemies didn't seem to be concerned with those that were already unconscious anyways, which made sense since there were still conscious threats to be taken care of.

He quickly lowered her torso and head to the floor as carefully as he could, tucking her body behind the console he'd used as cover. He did feel kind of bad about just leaving her there, completely vulnerable and nearly out in the open, but he'd already made his decision.

He gave her one last, somewhat apologetic look before reaching back to grab the blasters that were tucked into the back of his pants and charging into the fray.

* * *

Without knowing where else to go, Erza simply followed behind the group of Amerans that had fled from the cellblock, or at least she could only assume that people who come to rescue them were Amerans as well since they knew the language. She covered their retreat by taking on the few loyalists that chased after them with the sword Natsu had stolen for her, though since there were only a few stragglers to take down, she figured that Natsu really had like fought like hell, just like she'd promised him he could earlier.

The Amerans seemed to have a destination in mind since they were all racing in the same direction despite their somewhat large group of around twenty. A shorter man with thick eyebrows was leading the charge, the tone of his voice commanding as he shouted to the crowd.

She tightened her hand on her sword.

She may not understand Ameran, but she was smart enough to look for body language cues. And as she looked around at the Amerans, all taking deep breaths or steeling themselves in some way, she knew that wherever it was that they were headed, she would need to be ready to fight as soon as they got there.

* * *

Gray grunted as he drove his elbow backwards into the nose of the sympathizer that'd managed to jump onto his back while he'd been dealing with another opponent, spinning around and nailing the man with a stunning blast to the gut for good measure.

He'd managed to take down about four or five sympathizers with his blasters, but by doing so, he'd drawn attention to himself. He'd been able to fend off the first few just fine, but when there were at least five people jumping at him from every direction, he knew they wouldn't be taken down so easily.

He'd lost _another_ one of his blasters in the hand-to-hand skirmish, but as long as he had one, he knew he'd be alright.

Now that'd he'd dealt with the last of the people who'd charged him, he whipped back around to quickly access the tides of the battle.

There were fewer opponents now, but a few more of his comrades had been taken out, too. Nearly everyone in the room was fighting hand-to-hand now, though there was one man in the room standing completely still and unnoticed by any of the other Amerans, the target of the blaster in his hands giving him away as a sympathizer.

Gray aimed and fired without needing to think, his eyes going wide and a curse slipping through his when the trigger jammed and nothing shot from the barrel.

Of course it chose _now_ of all times to go faulty. He'd have to have another conversation with Natsu about not messing with their weapons and how to properly take care of them because he knew _without a doubt_ that this was the pilot's fault.

Despite that, he wasn't very careful with the blaster himself as he chucked it aside in anger, shoving past his frustration to get back to what _really_ mattered at this moment.

"Juvia!"

He lunged to tackle the blue haired girl out of the line of fire before she even had the chance to respond to his cry, his arms wrapping around her middle as he drove her to the floor.

He was already airborne when he heard the blast, so there was nothing he could do to stop it from making impact.

It hit the back of his upper thigh on his right leg, and with the immediate scalding sensation that raced up his leg, he knew that that blast hadn't been meant to stun. His flesh burned, not just in feeling, but quite literally, too, blood pouring from where his skin had been blasted away.

He and Juvia hit the floor hard, landing with Gray on top, the pair right beside the console where Lucy's body rested.

Instinct had him trying to get to his feet again as soon as possible, but pain kept him down, the knee of his injured leg slipping out from under him and sending him toppling right back down to where he'd landed the first time, right on top of Juvia.

He peeled his eyes open through the pain to make sure he hadn't accidentally knocked her unconscious when he'd tackled her. He hadn't felt her move since they'd landed, so he did his best to at least push his upper body off of her, finding her frozen beneath him with her hair sprawled across the ground.

Her blue eyes were wide with shock as she stared up at him, her lips parted, but not a single sound slipping through them. Realization was in her irises, too, and he could tell that she knew what he'd done.

He recalled what she'd said to him earlier, when it'd been just the two of them in the other compound.

" _The way you talked to her…it was pretty disgusting. Unless that's how you treat all of your friends."_

His body quivered as he tensed it to endure the pain, hissing through his teeth, " _That's_ how I treat my friends."

From the way she looked, it didn't seem as if she was capable of responding, but any response she might've made was lost as another wave of shouting washed over the room.

"Gray!"

His eyes widened at the familiar shout of his name, and sure enough, Erza was quickly right in front of him, a sword in her hand as she rounded the console he'd tackled Juvia behind. He cast a quick glance backwards to get at least somewhat of an idea as to where the redhead had suddenly appeared from, finding that the Amerans who'd split with them in the tunnels earlier had returned with their 'reinforcements' and were quickly dealing with the remaining loyalists.

"You're alive," he breathed in relief as he looked back to Erza and finally flopped off of the blue haired girl, leaning back against the side of the console, a warmth spreading in his chest now that things seemed to be going in their favor.

Juvia slowly sat up, too, being careful of his injury as she quickly untangled her legs from his, her focus downcast as she scooted away from him and the redhead.

Gray watched as Erza caught sight of Lucy now that he and Juvia were out of the way, her features quickly morphing into a hard look of anger.

Her sword clattered to the ground as she kneeled at the blonde's side, fixing the mechanic with a glare and demanding an explanation, "What happened?"

"She…she did…" his mind blanked when it came to describing what Lucy had done, so he simply blabbed, "…a…a _thing_ and passed out." He took a deep breath, "We've gotta get her somewhere where she can feed."

Erza nodded in understanding, though her features were still firm, "Which means we need Natsu." She gestured with her head for Gray to help her maneuver the limp blonde onto her back, sliding her hands under the girl's knees and standing, "The idiot probably needs our help anyways. He charged off of on his own to fight some guy when he looked like he was going to pass out at any second."

"Sounds like Natsu," Gray quickly remarked, pressing a hand to the wound on his leg and using the console they'd taken cover behind to painstakingly push himself to his feet.

"I'm coming with you," Juvia suddenly demanded, shoving herself to her feet.

Gray had almost forgotten that she was there. He caught sight of the warry, narrow-eyed look Erza was giving the blue haired girl and did his best to take a step forward, fighting off the hiss of pain that bubbled up his throat when he put weight on his injured leg, "It's alright, Erza. We can trust her."

The redhead's hard look softened only a fraction as she cast a glance at her crewmate, hoisting the blonde up further onto her back as she commanded, "Fine. Let's go."

* * *

Natsu shook his head as he stumbled back a few steps and had to land in a crouch to fully steady himself, huffing for breath and swiping his hand over his upper lip. As if the blood streaming from the gash on his forehead wasn't enough, there was blood streaming from his nose now, too.

The red-eyed man had paid him back for earlier by landing a few hits in the center of the pilot's face, but Natsu had managed to land a few more blows of his own despite the ever strengthening pounding of his head.

And there was certainly no room for giving up now that they'd come this far, his bloodied opponent stalking towards him to follow up on the blow that had sent the pilot stumbling backwards.

Natsu let out a wordless battle cry as he charged to meet the man halfway, tackling him around his middle in an attempt to take him to the floor.

But the guy only stumbled backwards a few steps before regaining his footing, planting his feet firmly on the ground and fisting a hand in the tufts of pink hair at his waist to yank the pilot off of him.

Natsu's hands floundered for a moment in an attempt to keep his hold, and they somehow found their way up to the man's shoulders. Now that he had a tight grip on the man's jacket, Natsu wasn't sure what he was planning on doing, maybe spitting in the guy's face or head-butting him, but before he could make a decision, a fist landed squarely in his jaw.

Despite his tight grip on the man, he felt himself begin to lose balance, and he knew there was no stopping himself from toppling over. But he figured that maybe once he hit the ground, he wouldn't feel like the world was tilting so much, and if he got this guy down too, he might actually stand a chance at beating him.

So he dug his fingers tighter into the shoulders of the man's jacket as he fell backwards, further throwing himself off balance by lifting one of his legs to place his foot at the man's hips and send him flying over his head as they both fell.

There was a series of two successive slams, one right after the other, as they both hit the metal floor, their groans and grunts of pain sounding in chorus.

The fall had only made Natsu's head hurt even more, but he still wasn't ready to give in, neither to his own aching body nor the man sprawled across the floor above his head. So he painstakingly rolled over onto his stomach, catching himself on his forearms and pulling his knees underneath his hips.

He lifted his head to see what state his opponent was in, finding that the man was already up on one knee, his opposite hand on the floor as he tried to push himself to his feet.

Natsu huffed out a half-hearted laugh when he saw the torn state of the man's jacket at his shoulder. Maybe he'd held onto the guy's sleeve a little tighter than he'd intended, but the thought and all amusement was lost as soon as his eyes glanced over the small portion of skin he'd revealed by accidentally tearing the sleeve at the seams.

The tan flesh was marred by shiny, white scar tissue that circled around his upper arm in a series of circles, hooked swirls, and lines. It was the brand of a slave, one that was found on hundreds of people on a planet Natsu knew all too well.

And suddenly, it all made sense. Why this man's skin and hair were so much darker than all of the other Amerans, and why his accent had sounded so damn familiar.

The pilot's eyes were wide as he lifted his gaze back up to the man's studded face, his brows furrowed as he breathed in disbelief, "You're from Invit?"

His mind was flooded with memories of the planet where he'd found refuge after his own was taken by the war, a planet where the people were as vile and rancid as the air. There had been few on that planet that he'd felt he could trust, like the little girl and her mother who'd always patched him up after he got into a fight on the street and the man who had practically raised him and given him his passion for piloting spacecraft. The rest of the people he'd met on that planet, however, were malicious and cared only for themselves.

Despite its people's wickedness, what had happened to that planet was a tragedy unlike any other, one that had rocked Natsu to his core.

"Gajeel!"

The scream had Natsu's mind rocketing back to the present, and before he turned to find its source, he first took a moment to see how the man had reacted in response to his question, to gauge whether or not his guess of the man's origins had been correct.

There was pain in his red irises, but there was fury and grief there, too. And that was enough to confirm Natsu's suspicions.

The pilot's head ached in protest as he whipped around to find the source of the scream that'd interrupted their fight, his eyes going wide at the sight of his crewmates and an unfamiliar girl at the end of the cellblock, the trio quickly approaching him and his opponent.

As he caught sight of the head of blonde hair that was resting on Erza's shoulder and the limp arms that hung over the redhead's neck, her name slipped through his lips before he could stop himself, "Lucy!"

There was a scuffle right in front of him, so he turned his head to find the source. He was met with a boot to the chin and his head snapped backwards, the rest of his body tumbling backwards in succession as he was knocked off of his knees and crumpled back down onto his back.

"Natsu!"

That had been Erza, but the pilot didn't pay her cry any mind, his thrumming mind's focus immediately zeroed in on the bastard that'd kicked him in the face.

He peeled his eyes open and immediately sought the man out, and he was met with the swimming sight of a retreating back running down the cellblock in the opposite direction.

The bastard was getting away.

He tried to push himself up, and there was suddenly somebody kneeling at his side, helping him to his feet.

He briefly saw raven haired locks out of the corner of his eye as he blearily found his footing, and his drive to get free of the hands that were holding him and go after the man with the studded face increased.

"Stop fighting! Don't make me pull you back to the ground!" Gray hissed, still gripping onto him with both hands.

"We can't let him get away!" Natsu continued to try and tug his arm free, "You gotta let me go after him!"

"Someone else will capture him!" Erza firmly pressed, lifting the shoulder that held a head of blonde hair, "We have to worry about our own first!"

Natsu deflated at that, though his body was still jittery as his focus jumped between the redhead and the blonde on her back, his eyes widening and then narrowing as he saw the lack of lights on her chin and cheeks, "What happened?"

"She exhausted herself with an attack earlier," the blue haired girl answered immediately, looking somewhat unsure of herself as she stood with the crew of three.

Natsu's gaze whipped the unfamiliar girl, sharply spitting, "Who the hell are you?"

"She's a friend, ashface," Gray hissed through clenched teeth, finally managing to stand back up, too.

The pilot's gaze whipped to him with the intention of spitting back an insult on instinct, but he pulled up short when he got his first good look at the mechanic since he'd shown up. The raven haired boy was favoring one leg and he was obviously roughed up a bit, his teeth grit to fight off the pain of whatever had happened.

Natsu suddenly remembered that Gray mostly likely had something to do with them being released, and he realized that the mechanic probably didn't deserve anymore crap, at least for the time being.

Wait…now he was feeling consideration for Gray? Yeah, he was definitely going insane.

"She needs to feed to regain her strength," Gray finished huffing out, giving the pilot a pointed look, "And she can't do that down here."

To his credit, despite the pounding of his head, Natsu caught on immediately. At the very least, he needed to take her to the surface, but with a spaceship, he could do even better and take her to the star at the center of Ameri's planetary orbit.

He turned to the mechanic as he pressed, "Where's the ship?"

Gray shook his head, "It's too far."

"I'll take you to the hanger," the blue haired girl offered, "If you need a ship, you can use one of ours."

"Are you sure you're okay to pilot?" Erza asked, looking him up and down.

" _Yes_ ," Natsu hissed, turning back to the stranger, "Now just take us to the damn ship."

* * *

Natsu switched off the systems, leaving the ship stagnant at a safe distance from Ameri's sun while he spun his chair around to look at Lucy, unsure of what to do other than just wait. A few moments passed and nothing changed, the blonde staying limp in the chair Erza had strapped her into, with one of her arms hanging over the side of her seat and her head limply collapsed onto one of her shoulders.

He might've just been impatient, but Natsu had the feeling that the light streaming through the windshield wasn't enough, and that she had to be more exposed in order to recover.

The blue haired girl, Juvia if he'd overheard Gray right, had quickly explained that the ship he'd borrowed had once been used for sightseeing during a time before the war, when Ameri was frequented by both businessmen and common travelers alike. The entire back of the ship was glass, and there was certainly plenty of light streaming through it.

With his mind made up, he made his way over the blonde, undoing the straps across her chest and hips and catching her upper body with one of his arms before she could topple over now that the restraints holding her up were gone. His slid his other arm beneath her knees, hoisting her from her chair and freezing for a moment to see how she reacted, but she didn't even flinch.

He'd never carried a girl, or really _anyone_ , like this before, but she was a lot lighter than he'd imagined, and her body settled rather naturally into his arms. He was careful not to bump her head or dangling feet on any of the other seats as he maneuvered around them to reach the back of the ship, walking slowly and carefully till they'd made it to the span of open floor before the glass rear. He held her close to his chest as he gently lowered himself to his knees before he froze again, unsure of what to do next.

She was practically still a stranger, but he figured that just leaving her there, sprawled out on the floor would be awkward and rude of him. But would she freak out if she woke up to find him holding her? He didn't think it was a big deal, but she could certainly take it the wrong way, especially when he considered what she'd been through.

Taking his own exhaustion into account, he settled for just joining her on the floor instead of going back to his own seat to avoid any confusion on her part when she awoke. He wanted her to know right where she was, and that she was safe and in the presence of someone who meant her no harm.

He gently set her down first to avoid any awkward bumps and jolts as he found his own comfortable position, sweeping her long braid out of the way so he didn't accidentally step on it while he settled on the floor. He leaned back against the bottom of one of the benches that ran along the walls in the back of the ship and extended his legs straight out in front of him, carefully lifting Lucy's head from the floor and sliding to the right a bit before resting her head on his thigh.

He figured she'd be more comfortable that way than if he'd just left her to rest on the floor.

He wasn't sure if she had to be conscious to 'photosynthesize' or if it was an involuntarily bodily function like breathing, and he wondered whether or not he should try to wake her. But after a few moments of sitting in uncertainty, bathed in the light of the nearby star, his concerns were set at ease as the little lights on her cheeks and chin began to glow once more. They'd done the same thing the last time he'd seen her 'feed,' or at least he could only assume that that was what she'd been doing when he'd seen her in the greenhouse the day before he'd retrieved that case from the wrecked cargo ship.

Content that she was recovering from whatever it was that she'd done to push herself to unconsciousness, he let the drowsiness that'd been pooling in his head begin to take its claim, letting his heavy eyelids slide shut and his pounding head fall backwards to rest on the cushioned bench.

There were a few, priceless moments of reprieve as he finally got the rest his body had desired, his mind just beginning to drift off as he felt the head in his lap shift.

He lifted his head from the bench and peeled his eyes open despite their desire to remain shut, his eyes settling on the blonde and waiting for her to come to entirely before he spoke.

Her eyelashes fluttered as her eyes slowly drifted open.

"Hey," he hummed softly, not wanting to startle her and also feeling incapable of giving her an enthusiastic greeting like he would have otherwise.

Lucy's eyes slowly found him and she stared at him in silence for a few moments with her brows furrowed before her irises were alight with recognition. Her lips quirked in a gentle grin as she breathed, "You're okay."

"More or less," he huffed, giving her his own grin.

Her head shifted in his lap again as she did her best to tiredly look around, "What…what happened?"

"I don't know what all went on on your end, but…" he gave her a grateful smile, "You and Gray got us out…somehow."

"So Erza's okay, too?"

"Yep," he tried to nod, but the action caused his head to pound.

"That's good," she sighed, her eyes drifting closed as she nuzzled further into his lap.

He figured that she was too exhausted to fully realize where she was and what exactly she was doing, but he didn't mind it too much, and he was too exhausted himself to do anything about it.

He let his head fall back rest one the bench once more, dread already pooling into his tone as he told her, "Once you're all better, we should probably head back down to the planet as soon as possible. Things were still kind of messy when I left."

"You're tired, too," she mumbled, her eyes still closed and her breaths still deep. "We can stay here for a bit."

Staying like this for a while certainly sounded pleasant to him.

Natsu let his own eyes fall shut, a soft smile on his lips as he breathed, "Alright. Thanks, Lucy."

* * *

 **AN**

 **Have I told you guys how much I hate writing fight scenes? Because I find it _really_ hard to write them, but here I am, coming up with a plot that will be loaded with them...**

 **Next chapter is the end of this arc! We've just got a bit of resolution, then we're heading off to start the next bit of our story, where we'll be learning even more about a certain main character of ours.**

 **And the sketch of the ship I mentioned will be done the next time I update :)**

 **Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for reading! As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts!**


	10. Chapter 10

Natsu twiddled his thumbs in his lap. Even after his short moment of reprieve with Lucy during their little excursion, he was still unbelievable tired. He knew that if he sat still, he'd be claimed by the tug of sleep instantly. And the fact that he was lying in a half-inclined examination bed only made the pull of unconsciousness more intense. But he wanted to hear his diagnosis, and so he did all he could to keep himself awake, like tapping his fingers on his lap and refusing to let his eyelids fall shut by constantly shifting the subject of his focus.

With heavy eyelids half-lidding his eyes, he pursed his lips as his head lolled to the right.

In the bed next to him, Gray's eyes were scrunched tightly closed and his teeth were grit as his flesh and skin were regenerated by the healing ointment one of the medics had applied generously over the injury on his thigh. It seemed that even though the Amerans had a decent stock of medical supplies and tools, pain killers were something they'd run short of.

Lucy had curled up on the floor between their beds, the white fabric she'd secured over her nose and mouth to act as a mask gently puffing in and out with her heavy breathing as she let herself sleep some more.

Natsu had offered her his bed so she could sleep somewhere comfortable, but she'd refused, her soft voice barely audible over Erza's as the redhead reprimanded him for even daring to try and get out of his examination, even if that hadn't been his intention.

Finding no source of entertainment in Gray and Lucy, Natsu shifted his head in the other direction. He may not have been at all fond of the mechanic, but that didn't mean that he found amusement in watching him writhe in pain.

On the other side of his bed stood Erza, her arms folded over her chest and her lips pressed into a grim line as she waited to hear from the two Ameran girls who stood near the screen that was monitoring and scanning the drowsy pilot. Natsu vaguely recognized them both, though he'd seen them each only once before. The young teen with the pink hair who'd been caught in the grasp of the man he'd fought earlier had had her own injuries tended to and now she was looking him over. The other, blue haired girl had told him that she was there to translate for him and Erza, and while that seemed like a perfectly logical reason to him, even through his drowsiness he picked up on the way she would glance over at his raven haired crewmate every now and then, which gave him the idea that maybe she had other reasons for insisting on staying in the already crowded med bay.

With the state he was in, Natsu didn't really bother with trying to figure out the girls' names. He'd heard Gray refer to the blue haired girl by name several times since he'd made his way back down to the planet, but it hadn't really stuck in his head. His mind was too languid and muddled to be bothered with remembering things at the moment.

He'd realized whatever was plaguing him wasn't just regular and simple exhaustion when he'd awoken from his little nap in the ship he'd borrowed to take Lucy up to Ameri's central star and only felt more tired and heavy. Though, part of how crappy he'd felt could likely have been attributed to the panic that'd consumed him when he'd found out that nearly thirty minutes had passed. In his rush to get back to the planet as quickly as possible so as to avoid Erza's anger, he'd forgotten that Lucy's head had been resting in his lap, only remembering that the blonde was there when her head thudded against the floor after he shoved himself to his feet.

He'd immediately crouched down at her side and apologized profusely, but the blonde had just lied where she'd fallen, pressing a hand to the back of her head as she breathily laughed, obviously still half asleep.

Eventually, he'd managed to pull her to her feet, the blonde assuring him that she'd be just fine until they could return to their ship and set out once more.

What a sight the two of them must've been, both of them stumbling to their seats and fumbling to secure the straps across their shoulders and hips.

Understandably, Lucy had been a bit concerned about him piloting the space craft in his condition, but he'd assured her that he could pilot a dinky little ship like the one they were in now in his sleep.

And, true to his words, they'd made it back down to the compound just fine, though his landing definitely hadn't been his smoothest.

Erza was waiting for them in the hanger, and after briefly expressing her relief over Lucy's recovery, she'd demanded that they make their way to the med bay so Natsu could be looked over. He hadn't had much of a say in the matter as the redhead dragged him along, throwing him into the bed beside the one Gray already occupied once they reached destination.

There were at least another dozen people in the med bay, all getting patched up or treating others who had been hurt in the somewhat brief, but difficult battle for control. None of the Amerans were paying the four foreigners much mind, their presence getting lost in the hustle of tending to the injured and dragging the unconscious bodies of the Alliance loyalists into cells.

Natsu had heard bits and pieces of the situation as the blue haired girl explained things to Erza. Irritation and anger had briefly registered in his head when he learned that all of this had happened because the council sent him and Erza to the wrong place. He resolved that when he was all patched up and well rested, they'd definitely be getting a piece of his mind.

It was a simple mistake that could've easily been avoided, and now, because that mistake, he and Gray were injured, their jumper was gone, and Lucy had put herself at risk of being found out. He still wasn't entirely sure of what it was that she'd done to drive herself into such an energy-deprived state, but he knew that whatever it was, it'd probably drawn a lot of unwanted attention to her and her abilities.

He supposed they were lucky that so much else was going on in the compound, because no one seemed to paying the three-man crew and blonde any mind.

Well, except for the blue haired girl.

Her glances found the sleeping blonde every now and then, too, curiosity and suspicion in her eyes.

Natsu was more than well aware of the fact that they probably wouldn't be allowed to leave until they'd answered some questions, and all the pilot could do was hope that the blue haired girl would be the one put in charge of their fate. Gray had said that she was a friend, after all, and if his crewmate trusted her, then Natsu supposed he could, too.

The pink hair teen suddenly dismissed herself from his bedside with a few words in Ameran, and the blue haired girl was left to talk to them on her own. She read over the information on the screen a few times to get it in her head before she turned to the pilot, "It seems that you have acute respiratory distress syndrome."

Natsu stared at her in silence for a moment, his confusion due to both his exhaustion and the fact that he had no idea what the hell that was. His brows furrowed as he bluntly mumbled, "What?"

The blue haired girl let out a heavy sigh, "Basically, you nearly drowned, so there's a lot of fluid built up in your lungs. This leads to confusion and exhaustion, shortness of breath and rapid breathing, on top of a few other things."

Natsu shrunk into himself a bit, his gaze dropping to his lap, "Yeah, that…that sounds about right."

"You made it all worse by fighting," she reprimanded, "not to mention your other injuries. Apart from bruises, you agitated the old stab wound on your shoulder, you must've hit your head at some point, _and_ your ribs took quite the beating."

Natsu didn't miss the guilt in Erza's eyes as her gaze briefly snapped to him following the blue haired girl's last words. His ribs _had_ still been healing from that fight with the tentacle alien thing in their greenhouse, but CPR was also a pretty intense process that put a lot of pressure on the ribs. He had no doubt that whatever fractures had remained in his bones had been made worse by Erza's compressions on his chest.

But she'd saved his life, so of course he wasn't going to be upset or angry with her.

"And how do we treat all that?" Erza questioned, unable to keep the tinge of worry out of her voice.

"We'll hook him up to a ventilator to put some oxygen back into his body and force the fluid out of his lungs," the blue haired girl explained simply. "Chelia left to go find it. The rest can be taken care of pretty easily with ointments and reparation tools."

Natsu did his best to let out a relieved sigh with his aching lungs, glancing between both Erza and the blue haired girl for permission as he tiredly slurred, "Can I sleep now?"

For the first time, the blue haired girl gave him a little smile, as if she was amused by his drowsiness, "Yes. I'll tell Chelia to try not to wake you, but she'll back with the ventilator soon. Don't freak out if you wake up with a breathing mask on."

"Noted," he hummed, his eyes falling shut

Erza stared at him in silence for a moment as he quickly drifted off in the matter of only a few moments, the redhead content that her crew had been taken care of and Lucy was getting some rest after whatever it was that the blonde had pulled.

So as not to disturb her crewmates, her voice was barely above a whisper as she turned to the blue haired girl who was still lingering beside her, "Thank you. After all you and your people have been through, we never expected you to help us. But we're incredibly grateful, nonetheless."

"Of course," the girl nodded. She gestured in Gray and Lucy's direction with her head, "Those two helped us take control of the compound, and I don't think it's an over-exaggeration to say that we couldn't have done it without them."

Erza didn't miss the curiosity in the girl's gaze as she stared at Lucy for a moment, nor the way her features softened as she lifted her focus to Gray.

The blue haired girl gently cleared her throat and shook her head, her focus dropping to the floor for a moment, "Now that they're taken care of," she lifted her gaze once more, her previously soft and gentle features now resilient, "We have some things we need to discuss."

Erza nodded in understanding, her lips pressed into a thin line, "Lead the way."

* * *

Even though he'd been told that his flesh was healed, Gray was still tentative as he slowly pushed himself to his feet, careful not to step on the blonde that was still curled up on the floor by his bed.

He allowed himself a quick grin of relief when there was no pain, only the slightest twinge of discomfort and soreness in his leg, his fingers running over where the wound had rested to test the pull of movement on his newly formed skin.

He wouldn't have expected a people that seemed to be so deprived and in need of aid to have such advanced medicines and medical tools. But when he considered the fact that Ameri was primarily a mining planet, he supposed it made sense. Mining was by no means a danger-free practice, so it was understandable that they were equipped with the means to deal with whatever injuries befell them.

"How's your leg?"

Gray lifted his gaze to find Erza approaching their allotted corner of the med bay, her eyes briefly running over Lucy and Natsu's sleeping forms, the pink haired pilot's complexion already returning to normal beneath the breathing mask that ran over his mouth and nose.

"Almost completely healed," as if to prove his words, Gray sat on the edge of his bed and twisted his leg to show her the wound through the hole the blast had made in his pants, the visible flesh striped with different shades of red and pink. "It's still just a bit tender, but they said it'd heal without a scar if I kept using the ointment they're letting me take with us."

To say the least, he'd been surprised when the little pinkette that'd been tending to everyone in the med bay had shoved the jar into his hands. The Amerans were being incredibly kind to him and his crewmates by patching them up, especially when he considered the fact that he and his crewmates were originally supposed be the ones offering up supplies.

But he supposed things were already beginning to change now that the anti-Alliance Amerans had officially taken control.

Relief quirked the corners of her lips upwards for a moment before her smile faded, her lips pressing into a grim line as she started, "I sent a message to the council telling them about the deal you made."

The grin Gray had allowed himself faded from his features. He expected disappointment and anger in response, and that was just on Erza's part. She hadn't reacted much at all when he'd briefly told her about the deal during the short span of time Natsu and Lucy had been gone, her face emotionless as she simply listened and processed before giving her response, just like she'd been trained to do. But now she'd had time to think things through, and he wasn't sure if he could handle the onslaught right now, after all the stress he'd just been through.

His fears regarding the council, however, were much more severe. Even though he was still kind of afraid of Erza in some regards, he'd learned to cope with her anger and disappointment by now given the fact that he and Natsu were often subject to her raging emotions. But the council held a lot more power, and the control they held over his life was kind of terrifying. He'd pledged the council to some steep terms without consulting anyone, and for his rash actions, he could be put on probation and removed from the ship, or, even worse, he could be removed from the crew entirely and exiled from the council, which meant his entire livelihood would be gone.

Despite those thoughts, he wasn't one to be controlled by his fears, so he lifted his focus, ready to take on whatever Erza was going to dump on him.

He was taken aback when he found that instead of anger hardening her features, there was a gentle grin instead.

"I think you did the right thing," she affirmed softly, her voice quiet so that she didn't wake the two sleeping nearby. "Not contacting the council until everything was resolved was good choice. You might have done it to have a better chance at saving me and Natsu, but you also gave these people a chance at rebuilding their society in a way that they see fit. They've already lived enough of their lives under someone else's control."

"And…" his gaze fell back to the floor despite her reassurances, "…what did the council think?"

She let out a heavy sigh, leaning her hip against the end of Natsu's bed, "They weren't too happy about being denied access to the resources they were after, but I assured them that the time would come for them to trade with the people of Ameri fairly. I fought for your side. _Our_ side," she corrected after a moment. "They're irritated, but that's about the whole of it. It doesn't seem like they're going punish us in any way, since there was a mistake on their end, too."

"Thanks, Erza," Gray sighed heavily, giving her a small, grateful small.

" _I_ should be the one thanking _you_ ," she hummed before tacking on one last matter, "The council's going to send Jura Neekis with a small team sometime in the next week since we weren't able to deliver the supplies we lost. They're also going to reassess the situation here since it's obviously not what they thought it was. I met with Lyon, and he's willing to accept what the council's offering so long as they uphold the rest of the terms of the deal."

"Jura, huh?" Gray quirked a brow at the name of the council's top members, folding his arms over his chest as he bitterly huffed out, "Guess the council's more interested in this planet than they originally let on."

"You know why they are. It should be no surprise," Erza spoke low, casting a cursory glance around the room to see if they had any unwanted listeners.

It wasn't like they had to be discrete and secretive when they knew that the great majority of people in the compound didn't know English, but when they were talking about something that was so grim and intertwined with the fate of Ameri and its people, it was hard not to feel the need to be covert.

Gray let out a heavy breath, "And we're sure that the council is going to stick to the terms once they're here? It's not like they have much incentive to, given how little of a threat these guys are."

"They'll follow through," Erza reaffirmed. "They want the resources, but they don't have the manpower to spare nor do they possess the technology and knowledge they need to get them. Without its people, Ameri is useless."

The mechanic nodded to himself, content with the redhead's words. He was glad to know that things may work out for the Amerans, especially now that there was someone on the planet whom he considered a friend.

* * *

Gray's arms were folded over his chest and his lips were set in a glare as he stared across the way. His narrowed eyes were set on Natsu as the salmon haired boy told Lucy all of what had happened on his and Erza's end since they'd been shot down, which was really just a whole lot of sitting around in a cell with just a pinch of excitement at the end.

Unfortunately, the pilot already seemed to be back to his usual, exuberant, and ever-irritating self.

Despite the tale's lack of action, Lucy was still listening rather intently, though Gray had a feeling that she was doing so more to be nice rather than because she was actually enthralled. He noticed that her hands were nervously fingering the loose ends of the straps securing her in her seat next to Natsu, and he supposed she could also be using the pilot to distract herself from the fact that they were once again beneath an immeasurable amount of water in a ship whose walls were only a few inches thick.

He didn't know how she hadn't gotten over her fear yet when they'd practically walked across the ocean floor in nothing more than their EVA suits, but there was a lot about the girl that still remained a mystery to him. They weren't in the clear yet when it came to talking openly about what Lucy was though, so he resolved to hold off until it was just him and his crewmates alone with the blonde again, and then he could ask her all of the questions he'd been stowing away in the back of his head.

It wouldn't be long now until he had the opportunity to do so. An Ameran pilot was taking them back to the other compound so they could return to their ship and depart from the planet. It'd taken the mechanic a bit by surprise when Erza had told him that they were already being allowed to leave once Natsu was feeling well enough, and he figured that the redhead must've taken care of everything when she'd disappeared with Juvia earlier.

He was curious to know what all had gone on during this meeting Erza had had with Lyon and Juvia, but he wasn't getting any clues from the redhead. She was too preoccupied with watching Natsu like a hawk, even though the salmon haired pilot was functioning just fine now that his lungs had been cleared and he'd had a decent amount of sleep, along with the other work the Amerans had done to patch him up.

Juvia wasn't giving him any ideas about what had been said during that meeting either, the blue haired girl not whispering a single word more since she'd come to inform them that they could leave for the other compound any time they liked.

Gray cast a curious glance at where she was seated at his side, trying to gauge what had changed for her to be acting the way she was. She'd stuck close to him ever since they'd left the med bay, her hands shyly clasped in front of herself and her gaze devotedly attached to the floor.

He found her behavior odd given how passionate and determined she'd been during every interaction they'd had since they'd met, and though he didn't know her near well enough to judge her emotions based on her expression alone, he couldn't help but feel like something was wrong.

She'd been acting rather shy, so he cast a glance around the ship to see if anyone else was paying any attention to them before he started up a conversation. The Ameran pilot was focused on his duties, and after hearing a certain detail in the end of Natsu's story, Lucy had curiously asked Erza about her swordsmanship. That had set Erza off on one of her unnecessarily long and embellished monologues about the beauty of wielding a blade, and while Lucy was thoroughly intrigued by the redhead, Natsu spent his time trying to win the blonde over to his side, saying that talking about ships and piloting was a conversation that was far more worthwhile.

Finding that everyone else in the ship was focused on other things, he figured that Juvia would be more willing to converse since they likely wouldn't be heard by the others. So he turned to her, softly starting, "Hey. You okay?"

Her gaze shot up to his as if he'd surprised her, which he didn't know how he could have given how soft and slow he'd spoken.

"Yes, I'm fine," she answered quickly, turning her gaze away once more as if to hide her face from him. Her voice was barely audible as she softly and worriedly questioned, "Is…is your leg okay?"

"It's gonna be fine thanks to Chelia. That ointment works like a charm."

"That's good," she nodded her head softly, still not making eye contact.

He supposed she probably felt guilty for the fact that he'd gotten injured while protecting her, but it wasn't like there had been anything she could've done to stop him from getting hurt. She'd been busy fighting someone else, and he'd been the one to decide that tackling her out of the way was the best way to save her. If him being injured was anyone's fault, it was his own.

He cleared his throat as he shifted the topic, dropping his voice even lower and leaning closer to her, "You know that you can't say anything to anyone about Lucy, right?"

"I understand," Juvia nodded, keeping her voice quiet to match his volume. "Erza explained that if the Alliance finds out about her, they'll have the advantage if another war breaks out." She finally lifted her gaze back to his, nothing but honesty and sincerity in her voice as she pledged, "I'd never do anything that benefits the Alliance, and I'll never betray you guys for what you've done."

* * *

Natsu let out a heavy sigh as they all rounded the corner and their ship came into view, a feeling of home washing over him at the sight. He was looking forward to collapsing onto his bed once they'd jumped into FTL towards wherever they were heading next, even though he already felt much better after getting a few hours of sleeping and being treated by the Ameran medic.

His experience with the pink haired girl had made him come to a final decision on a thought that he'd had for a while now. He would definitely have to talk to Erza and the council about finding a medic to join their crew, because having someone who knew extensively about healing the body made the whole process of treating injuries a whole lot easier and more seamless than anything their ragtag crew of three was capable of.

Ready to move on from the planet, Natsu strode right up to their ship, standing still for a moment as he waited for Gray to lower the ramp of their ship using the band on his wrist. The mechanic was the only one that had such a device on him at the moment since Natsu and Erza hadn't brought theirs with them considering they hadn't thought they would need them on their mission.

But after a few moments of nothing, the pilot turned back around, finding that Lucy and his two crewmates had all spun around to face the blue haired girl that had been trailing behind them.

Oh yeah. This chick was still with them. Usually, there wasn't anyone to say goodbye to after missions, so Natsu been ready to leave without any farewells. But it seemed like this girl had been quite involved with the process of their rescue on Gray and Lucy's end. Even though he didn't have anything to say, he decided to stick around for the goodbyes, knowing that there was nothing for him to do on the ship so long as Lucy and his crewmates were still on the ground.

Gray's voice echoed around the hanger as he tentatively started, "So, this is it, I guess?"

Lucy took a small step forward, her mask puffing in and out in rhythm with her soft speaking, "All of the loyalists that I flash-blinded need to be gentle on their eyes for the next little bit. Their vision should be back to normal by now, but they were exposed to a lot of light out of nowhere in a place that was pretty dark, so their eyes will be sensitive to light for a while."

Natsu's brows furrowed. Did she say 'flash-blinded?' That certainly didn't sound too pleasant. And given that the blonde knew so much about the after effects on those that had been subject to it, he guess that she'd be forced to do such a thing before.

"We'll see to it that they're properly taken care of," the blue haired girl nodded and smile softly in gratitude for a moment before her expression shifted, her focus jumping to Natsu and her voice becoming heavier as she quietly started, "The guy you were fighting with…his name's Gajeel…no one can find him, and one of the ships in the other compound is missing."

Fire rushed through Natsu's veins. The bastard had gotten away. He shouldn't have let his crewmates convince him that someone else would find and capture the guy.

But, then again, he'd abandoned the fight to help Lucy, so he felt no regret, only frustration.

"The ship he took isn't capable of jumping into FTL," the girl continued, "and he didn't take any supplies with him, so he can't go too far. We've sent word out to the surrounding planets." Her gaze dropped to the floor, her voice overflowing with solemnity as she asked, "But by any chance, if you run into him…please tell him to come home."

"We'll watch out for him, Juvia," Gray earnestly pledged.

Ah, so that was her name. Natsu took note of the information.

Juvia nodded her head, her lips quirking in a small smile after a moment more of solemn silence, "Maybe the council's not as bad as I thought it was. Or, at least, the people that work there aren't." Her gaze traveled over all of them once more, settling specifically between Gray and Lucy as she sincerely spoke, "Thank you. We won't forget what you did for us."

A few more simple exchanges of good tidings were exchanged between the group of five, but Natsu didn't bother with making anything seem too sentimental or final.

The galaxy was a big place, but they'd probably meet the blue haired girl again, despite how unlikely it seemed. After all, tensions were high, and her planet held the resources to craft weapons of war. No matter how much Natsu hated the idea, he knew that in the coming years, they would probably need all of the weapons they could get.

* * *

" _You_ landed the ship?!" Natsu hissed in response to the answer he'd received when he'd asked how the ship had ended up where it was, disbelief in his gaze as he stared at Gray, "How'd you manage that?!"

The mechanic shrugged nonchalantly, "Natural talent and ability? Fear of failure? Luck?"

Natsu pursed his lips as he swiveled in his pilot's seat, preparing the ship's systems for the transition from water to air as he reluctantly, but also somewhat smugly admitted, "Whale done, sir. Whale done."

Lucy spluttered out a quiet giggle from where she'd tucked herself into one of the spinny chairs off to the side of the bridge, and Erza's exasperation was practically audible in her heavy sigh.

Gray's voice was edging on irritation as he monotonously questioned, "Was that a pun?"

"Maybe."

"You're so fucking annoying," the mechanic growled as he sunk into a chair at one of the consoles on the edge of the bridge, on the opposite side as Lucy. The tone of his voice suddenly shifted to pompous, "You're also completely unnecessary, it seems. I was able to do your job just fine, but you don't have a snowball's chance at doing what I do. That means I'm better than you."

Natsu's focus immediately snapped to his rival in a glare, "You wanna say that again, ice princess?"

"Boys," Erza hissed as she set a hand on the back of Natsu's chair in warning, putting a stop to the fight before it could really even begin.

Lucy bit her bottom lip to contain her laughter as the two boys immediately shrunk into themselves, all thoughts of a fight obviously gone from their minds as Natsu lifted the steering yolk to guide the ship out of the water.

These three…she could definitely see herself getting used to and becoming friends with them. Natsu and Erza had been kind to her pretty much from the get-go, and she felt that with time, she could get Gray to soften up a bit, too. He was already significantly less harsh with her than he had been when they'd first met, and she was determined that the path she'd started down with him would only keep going, and, eventually, she'd earn his trust.

But…would they accept her in return? She didn't know exactly how long they'd been a crew of three, but maybe they didn't want that fact to change. And being her friend meant subjecting themselves to the all of the danger that she was already in, and she felt that the Alliance would stop at nothing to get her back.

If anyone were to die because of her…if Natsu, Erza, or Gray were to die, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself.

"Get ready to jump to FTL."

Lucy shook those thoughts out of her head as Natsu gave the warning, bracing her feet against where she'd pulled them up onto her seat and reaching out with both hands to grab onto a nearby console, just in case. During her month aboard their ship, she'd learned that jumping to FTL was sometimes coupled with a horrible lurch depending on where they were, and she knew that this jump was more than likely to have a little turbulence since they were departing from a place that had atmosphere.

Her eyes followed Natsu's hand as he wrapped his fingers around the thruster of the FTL drive, bracing herself as he shoved the thruster forward.

The blonde's eyes widened and her brows furrowed when there was a raucous noise that sounded like a mix of a hiss and a screech, the sound ending with a massive clunk.

Other than that, nothing happened.

The four all sat in silence for a moment before Natsu and Gray seemed to remember what was wrong at the same time, a curse slipping through the mechanic's lips while the pilot let out a little groan.

"Oh yeah," the salmon haired boy breathed, his hand still on the thruster as his head fell to clunk against the edge of his console and he miserably mumbled, "The engine room's still trashed."

* * *

 **AN**

 **And thus marks the end of our beloved ocean puns…😢**

 **Only resolution stuff this chapter, but we'll be right back into some excitement as we begin our next arc next chapter!** **Excuse me if I sound rather Marvel-ish while I write this, but: Juvia and Gajeel will return (one of them reeeeaaaalllly soon, too)**

 **FTL means 'faster than light,' for those of you who don't know…idk if I've mentioned that before.**

 **I uploaded the sketch of the ship to my deviantart since I wasn't sure where else would be accessible, so you can find me on there by the same username. The labels are kind of small in some places, but the resolution is pretty high, so you should be able to zoom in to read them more clearly. I also have a drawing of what the ship looks like from the outside, but I'm saving that for when we find out the ship's name 😉**

 **Thank you so much for reading! As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts!**


	11. Chapter 11

Lucy let out a small sigh as she settled on the floor in front of a metal planter, the lights on her skin dancing in the soft glow of the stars, which was amplified by the glass dome running overhead. She ignored the cold sting of metal against the bare skin of her arms as she folded them atop the smooth surface before her, resting her chin upon her forearms and taking in a deep breath as her eyes fluttered shut. There was just something better about the air in the greenhouse since some of it was naturally produced rather than originating from the life support system, and she couldn't get enough of being in the room.

And, of course, the revitalizing light of the stars added even more richness to the refreshing aura of the greenhouse. While her body took in energy, she could relax to the sight of lush greenery illuminated against the stark contrast of stars shining in the blackness of space, a sight she'd seldom been able to see before her time aboard this ship.

She'd had to go against law to see such a view on her home planet, and the Alliance had only let her out to feed during the daytime, for it would be easier for her to sneak away in the darkness of night.

Now, she was perpetually appreciative that she could take in the sight as much as she wanted, and that it would always be there for her to seek refuge in.

There was a light knocking on the doorframe at the entrance of the greenhouse, so she shifted her head in that direction. The doorframe was still warped and twisted out of shape from the attack earlier, which prevented them from closing the blast doors.

Natsu was peaking past one the jutting edges, a soft grin slipping onto his face when he caught her focus, "Hey, Lucy."

He was eating that jerky again, the same kind he'd been snacking on when he'd walked in during her and Erza's initial cleanup of the greenhouse two days prior. He seemed to like it a lot, so maybe she'd have to ask him to try some later, when she was feeling up to trying to eat again.

Although the chocolate he'd given her had brought tears to her eyes with its sweet flavor, it ultimately hadn't been too kind to her. It seemed that after years of disuse, her stomach wasn't quite ready to jump back into its usual processes, so she'd resolved to take it slow with trying to eat again.

"Hey," she hummed back gently, unable to muster up a more enthusiastic greeting when she was feeling as content and relaxed as she was.

It was for that very same reason that she didn't slide away or physically react much to Natsu coming closer.

But she couldn't stop her eyes from widening at least a fraction when he settled on the ground right next to her; that of all the places in the room and with the edges of nearly a dozen planters open for a seat, he chose to plop right beside her. She wasn't used to people being so close without them wanting to examine her, restrain her, or inject something into her, but Natsu clearly didn't hold the same reservations about personal space. He'd been the one to instigate how they'd fallen asleep earlier, when he'd taken her to regain her energy after the whole ordeal on Ameri, and he hadn't seemed at all bothered by her nuzzling her head into his lap.

Lucy, on the other hand, was retrospectively horrified. She couldn't believe that she'd let herself act like that, and even the fact that she'd been too exhausted to think straight at the time couldn't save her from her embarrassment. Natsu was nice, but he was practically a stranger still, and she'd completely let her guard down. She had an inkling of a thought that he wouldn't have been so easily accepting of their contact in that moment had he not been so exhausted himself.

But he'd certainly proven himself trustworthy, even though she'd only _really_ known him for no more than three days, today being their fourth.

"Erza found a market that has what we need on a nearby planet," the pilot mumbled around the jerky in his mouth, completely obvious to the thoughts racing through the blonde next to him. "We'll be there in a few hours."

"That's good," Lucy mumbled, burying the lower half of her face in her folded arms.

"Yeah…We're gonna try to be as quick as we can with gathering what we need and making repairs. We don't want to be stuck there for too long, since its on Balam's side of The Rim."

Lucy buried her face further into her arms as she nodded, not wanting Natsu to see the way she'd automatically bit her bottom lip.

The Rim. A name that left little up to the imagination. It was the unofficial, but widely used term for the strip of independent planets and colonies that rested between the spans of the galaxy that were officially claimed by the Council and the Alliance.

It was where her home planet had once resided, though now, she wasn't sure what remained of the place where she'd been born.

Traveling to Ameri had brought them into the no man's land, but she hadn't thought they'd actually venture closer to Balam's side of the area of uncertainty. The last time she'd gone through it had been with Jellal during her escape, but they'd only stayed long enough to ditch one ship and board another before they'd been off again.

"Erza wanted me to tell you that it'd probably be best if you stayed on the ship while we're there."

Lucy nodded again, humming to let him know she had no qualms about staying on board. She hadn't been planning on getting off anyways, nor did she ever think she'd have the luxury of going out and exploring the planets and stations they visited.

Ameri had been a special case since Gray had needed her help, but now that Natsu and Erza were back, she knew it was likely that she'd seldom have the opportunity to walk about freely again.

This ship was the only place she was safe, and though she didn't want to think about it, she knew that even that fact could someday change.

Keeping the lower half of her face buried in her arms, she shifted her gaze to the pilot at her left.

She didn't want this ship to become unsafe. Not for her, nor the three crew members who operated it. She didn't want to leave.

Natsu was still contently snacking on his jerky, placing his elbows on the edge of the planter and leaning forward onto it like Lucy was, "Normally, we wouldn't go to a planet so close to Balam territory, but without jumping into FTL, it'd take us months to get to the next closest place with the supplies we need. Gray doesn't think the ship will hold up until then, and we'd probably lose all flight power if we tried to go so far." His gaze fell, his voice a little more heavy as he mumbled, "With the little food we have left, we don't think _we'll_ hold up until then."

Lucy tore her focus away again when his features shifted, a grim silence briefly falling over them for a few moments. The current situation was proof of how revolutionary the experiments she'd endured were, of how humanity had advanced so far, yet hunger and dependence on food were as prevalent as they'd ever been. As she cast a glance over at the downtrodden pilot, she almost felt guilty for the fact that she'd been turned into what she was. And yet, it wasn't a gift that she'd asked for, nor was it one she even wanted.

Natsu suddenly chuckled to ease the atmosphere, as if he'd finally caught on to the blonde's inner feelings. His voice was a lot lighter as he glanced her way and pledged, "But we'll be all stocked up again once we've made it to the station. We'll be able to feast! Then you can finally join us for that meal."

A soft smile tugging at the corners of Lucy's lips. Inviting her to eat with them had been one of the first things he'd said to her, and in all of the craziness that had shortly followed, she'd thought he would've forgotten.

She nodded her head, finally pulling her face out of the cover of her arms, "Sounds like a plan."

The blonde felt bad for contributing so little to the conversation, having nothing to say other than a few short phrases.

But it seemed like she didn't need to fill the silence. Natsu was doing plenty well on keeping things going on his own.

"I haven't had a good meal since before we went to Ameri," he pouted, running his hand over his stomach. His mindset seemed to shift with that thought, the pilot quickly inhaling before his focus whipped to her, his voice somewhat demanding as he probed, "Was Gray nice to you while Erza and I were gone?"

"He was…decent," Lucy softly settled on a word she found appropriate after a moment of thought. Admittedly, Gray had been a lot nicer to her during their time on Ameri than he had been before the ordeal, but she knew without a doubt that his change in behavior was at least partially due to the fact that she had somewhat been the only person on his side.

Lucy chose to go the more lighthearted route rather than divulging all of that though, a soft trill in her voice, "He didn't shoot me in the back again, if that's what you were asking."

Natsu's focus returned forward as he sharply nodded, "Good. He can be a real asshole sometimes." After a brief moment of contemplation, he corrected, "Actually, he's a real asshole _all_ the time."

The blonde muffled a laugh by burying her mouth into her upper arm. She'd been a bit surprised by their fighting in the bridge earlier, but now she guessed that that was a thing Natsu and Gray always did. They would fight and insult each other, but it was obvious that they didn't _really_ hate each other, or at least not as much as they said they did. She'd seen it in the way that Gray had been so worried after the jumper went down, and in how he'd been so intent on getting Natsu and Erza back, refusing to believe that they were dead.

Not knowing how to respond to Natsu's insult to the mechanic, Lucy decided to shift the topic, reaching out to run her fingertips across the dew-covered leaf of a plant as she hummed, "I'm glad that Erza and I were able to salvage a lot of this stuff. It would've been a shame if that thing had destroyed all of it."

Natsu made a noise of agreement, and she could feel his eyes on her, watching her curiously.

His brows were furrowed as he innocently questioned, "Why do you like plants so much? I mean…other than them being, like…your 'photosynthesis sisters' and all that."

She couldn't help but laugh softly at that. Once again, he'd managed to get her guard down, and before she could stop herself, she was answering his curiosity honestly and without withholding much, "My home planet didn't spin, so the same side was always facing our orbital star. That meant that there were only a few areas that were in the right climate for plant-growth. Lush greenery like this was rare, so being able to see it whenever I like…being able to touch it…I want to take as much of it in as I can."

The pilot's eyes followed her movements as she ran her fingertips over the leaf of one of the many plants in the dirt before her, the simplicity of her affection bringing a soft grin to his features. Hearing her talk about her past in a manner that wasn't overwhelmingly melancholy was certainly a pleasant change.

But he knew that his next question wouldn't bring about the same reminiscent remembrance. During her explanation, he couldn't help but notice that she'd used only past tense when referring to her home.

He cleared his throat gently, looking away for a moment to gather his thoughts before he tentatively ventured, "So…your home planet…was it attacked by the Balam Alliance?"

Her smile immediately faded and her head turned away from him, silence weighing down on them for a moment before she quietly mumbled, "…more or less."

Something about the way she said it suggested that there was a lot more to the situation than just a simple attack, but he knew well about the pain that memories of the past could bring about when mentioned. His own home had fallen victim to the casualties of war, and for him, talking about life before he'd been picked up by the council could be incredibly taxing. He didn't like talking about his home world, so he wouldn't force her to do the same if it made her uncomfortable.

And he had a feeling that he wouldn't get much out of her if he kept asking her about her home, but he, just like his crewmates, was still so incredibly curious about the blonde and where she'd come from. She'd spoken of her past easily and even with fondness only moments ago, so he decided to take one more gamble before he called it quits. Just one more question, and if he got a negative response, he'd stop. He wanted answers, but he didn't want to push her so far that she closed herself off to him for forever.

"Lucy…" he hesitantly breached the silence, his voice still tentative. He set his bag of jerky aside, pulling back from the planter and wrapping his arms around his knees, "Can I…Can I ask how long you were held captive?"

Her focus slowly drifted forward from where it'd been turned away, allowing him to see her side profile, the very edges of which were set alight with the soft glow of the stars. Her eyes were downcast, her eyelashes dusting her cheeks as she swallowed heavily before whispering through a tight throat, "About five years. I was eleven...when they first took me…" Her hands had fallen into her lap, where her fingers began toying with the piled edges of her loose shirt.

Natsu's eyes had gone wide the second she'd spoken.

Since she was eleven? He hadn't exactly had the easiest life when he'd been that age either, but he couldn't imagine what it must've been like to have been fully at the mercy of the Alliance at such a young age, with no chance of defending himself against such a power.

It must've been terrifying.

The blonde suddenly cleared her throat, sniffling and blinking quickly a few times before she cast a quick glance his way, her voice a lot more clear than it had been previously as she asked, "What about you? How long have you been a part of all this?"

Natsu took a deep breath. She'd told him something which obviously brought her pain, so it was only fair that he share some of his past in return. He shrugged lightly, "I grew up on a planet that was overseen by the Council. So…since I was born, I guess."

Lucy softly nodded her head before swallowing heavily once more, "But…when did you start to fight for the Council by choice?"

Like he had many times as of late, Natsu thought over how he wasn't exactly doing it by choice even now. Exploration and adventure were his heart's desires, but traveling the galaxy simply wasn't possible without the Council's aid.

But he didn't want to drag her down and further tarnish her view of the Council by admitting that, so he answered her question simply and honestly, "I got taken in by someone from the Council when I was twelve, but in terms of actually going and doing missions…I think I was fourteen when I started piloting for them. So, I guess it's already been five years…" with a bit of a bitter chuckle, he softly noted, "…kind of the same time span as you."

"It's a shame, isn't it?" Lucy started, her focus still downcast, but her voice holding a slight edge of frustration. "That for both of us, those five years were wasted playing a part in a battle that we didn't even start?" She shook her head as if in disappointment, "Jellal once told me that this was an era of peace."

Natsu's gaze fell, too.

It really was a shame. If he'd done the math right, she was sixteen, three years younger than him, which meant that just like him, she hadn't been born when the conflict first broke out. And being born into a war-torn galaxy had set them up for a life full of conflict, something they didn't have the power to change.

"Peace is a loosely defined term nowadays," he lowly lamented. "It simply means that there's no full out war. But tensions are higher than they've ever been, and each side's restlessly fighting to gain the upper hand so that when all of that tension finally snaps, they'll emerge out of the floodwaters victorious."

He didn't say anything more, knowing he'd got his point across. Hell, if anything, Lucy herself served as a testament of all that he'd said.

There was silence again for a few moments before the blonde turned to him, genuine curiosity in her tone, "Why do you fight for the Council? It's obvious that you don't agree with all that they've done."

"No one on board this ship fully agrees with what they've done," he sharply affirmed. "But I fight for them because I've lived a life without their aid, and I'd rather die than go back."

* * *

Natsu let out a heavy sigh as his fingers flicked through the box of old control board panels before him, grumbling to himself as he watched his hands become dirty with dust and grime.

This supposed 'market' they'd gone to really was just that. Independent colonies were normally in a bit of disarray from trying to function on their own, but the market didn't seem to be regulated much at all, and he and Gray had passed by more than a few sketchy looking allies before they'd found a tech shop. The tech shop itself wasn't any less sketchy or rundown than the rest of the market, but it at least offered supplies with which they could make due until they were able to get back into the heart of the Council's territory, where they were authorized to get whatever resources they needed from any Council outpost they could find.

The shady atmosphere aside, Natsu's boredom was another reason he was in somewhat of a rush. After leaving Lucy secured in the ship, Erza had sent him with Gray to gather supplies to fix the engine room while the redhead went on her own to find food. It wasn't fair that he'd gotten stuck with the ice princess, looking through boxes of scraps for the parts they needed while she got to go off and explore all of the foods this place had to offer. Didn't Erza know that food was one of his favorite things?

Actually, on second thought…maybe that was exactly why she'd sent him off with Gray. He probably couldn't be trusted to buy any food other than what appealed to him, and he really didn't have the best diet. But hey, he was still alive and pretty fit, wasn't he?

"Natsu?"

His brows furrowed at the soft, questioning call of his name.

The second he started to turn around, there was a happy cry of, "It _is_ you!"

His eyes widened a fraction at the blue haired girl practically skipping down the aisle towards him, "Levy?"

"It's so good to see you!" she happily chirped as she came to a stop before him, one of her hands at her chest, holding tight to the strap of the bag at her side, which he guessed held countless artifacts.

She was an archaeologist of sorts, but the girl was primarily concerned with languages found in dated inscriptions. She and her crew traveled to uninhabited or scarcely populated planets that had once thrived with life, scouring the ruins for knowledge of societies that were now gone, whether they simply faded away or were exterminated by the cruelty of the war.

That was part of the meaning behind the name of her crew's ship. They were always concerned with the pieces that had been left behind, the shadows of civilizations long gone.

Natsu sometimes found her work interesting, but his crew's brand of missions would always be more appealing and exciting to him.

"What are you doing here?" It was a stupid question, really, since the answer was so obvious. There was only one thing that brought people like him and her out to a place like The Rim, but he'd never been particularly close to Levy, so he was unsure of what to do other than to revert back to the basics of making conversation.

Nonetheless, the blue haired girl politely answered his question without a smidgen of annoyance or exasperation. She'd always been incredibly sweet and kind, "The boys and I were on a mission on a nearby planet, checking out the ruins there." She lifted the tablet in her right hand, showing him the cracked screen, "This thing got busted when I took a tumble down an old staircase, so we were just stopping by to get it fixed and grab some supplies. I'm guessing you're here for the same thing?"

"Yeah," he sighed heavily, going back to shuffling through the parts on the shelf before him to search for the panel Gray had tasked him with finding. "We're practically out of food, and our ship took quite a beating a few days ago. The FTL drive is toast."

She gave him a soft, sympathetic smile for a moment before sweeping her gaze curiously down the aisle they were in, her brows furrowed a tiny fraction as she asked, "Where are Gray and Erza?"

"The ice princess took off somewhere else to get some more parts, and Erza went to get the food."

She nodded softly and hummed, "I'd like to see them for a bit before I go. I'm sure Jet and Droy wouldn't mind catching up with you guys either. How long has it been?"

"Four or five months?" Natsu ventured with an air of uncertainty, thinking back to the last time he'd seen the blue haired girl.

Levy let out a noise that sounded like a mix of a scoff and a sigh, giving the pilot a pointed look, "Would it kill you guys to come back to headquarters every now and then? Everyone misses you guys, and I'm sure Cana wouldn't mind having some drinking buddies again."

He chuckled, "It's a long way to go just for a drink."

"But its home," she warmly professed, a soft grin on her features. "And you don't even have to really come all that way, you know. Your ship has a transport room, in case you've forgotten. And there's cloning transports on pretty much every station nowadays."

He shivered at the mention of those transports. The idea was simple: get in a pod that scans your body at one location, and transport your consciousness into the clone that's created at another location, one that's possibly light-years away. The whole thing just seemed unnatural to him, and even thinking about cloning himself and leaving his real body vulnerable like that made him uneasy.

It'd been a long time since they'd last been to headquarters though, and the idea of seeing everyone again was becoming more and more appealing the longer he thought about it.

Levy jumped a bit when the band of metal around his right wrist suddenly started beeping, and Natsu's brows furrowed as he bent his forearm up to bring the band that was connected to their ship into his line of sight, "The hell?"

"What is that?" the girl questioned, subtly rising up onto the balls of her feet to try and get a peek at his wrist.

"Ashface!"

Gray's shout sounded from somewhere else in the shop just as Natsu sprang into action, the pilot dropping everything he was carrying before tearing down the aisle and out of the shop. The mechanic appeared right beside him as he kicked up dirt in his run through the marketplace and back to their ship, the alarm on their wristbands beeping all the while.

* * *

Lucy's eyes lazily followed the passing crowd as they walked through the marketplace, the passerby completely oblivious to the girl lying on her side atop the blanket she'd laid out for herself. The outside of the glass in the greenhouse had been darkened when they'd landed, preventing the people outside from seeing in. Such a measure allowed the blonde to lie and watch the hustle and bustle of the market from afar, and although she yearned to go out and explore the marketplace herself, the sight of so many people simply living their lives made her feel a little bit better.

She was still feeling a little down after having spoken to Natsu earlier, even though it'd been hours ago. They'd both left that conversation feeling frustrated, not with each other, of course, but just with the way things were in general.

It was nice to have some time on her own after that. There were certain things she really didn't mind talking about, but going into detail about other occurrences wasn't easy for her. She wanted Natsu, Erza, and Gray to trust her, but there had to be _some_ sort of balance between her desire to make the crew of three feel like she wasn't hiding important information from them and her own comfort and sanity.

Talking about the events surrounding her capture was where she drew the line, but she'd slipped up and allowed herself to come close to crossing that line by speaking of her home planet.

Her conversation with the pilot had also served to make her more curious about Natsu's past, and subsequently, Gray and Erza's, too. She didn't feel ready to divulge every detail about herself to the crew of three yet, but maybe one day they'd all be able to share their burdens with one another.

Lucy's brows furrowed when a deep hum suddenly traveled through the metal she was lying on, lifting her head to better hear where the sound was originating from.

It was probably the ramp, she realized. It'd never made such a sound when moving before, but more and more stuff aboard their ship was beginning to malfunction, so it wouldn't surprise her if the mechanism that lifted and lowered the slab of metal was having some difficulty with its operation.

She wasn't expecting the crew back so soon, but she figured as long as she made sure she wasn't seen by anybody outside, she could at least go and greet them.

So she pushed herself to her feet, leaving the warm blanket she'd laid out for herself and the greenhouse behind.

* * *

Natsu and Gray stumbled to a stop as an explosion rocked the ground.

The pilot only gave himself a brief moment to stare ahead as dirt and smoke flew through the air, billowing over the tops of buildings, before he took off again towards the pillaring smoke.

That was where they'd left their ship, and that was where they'd left Lucy behind, all on her own.

* * *

Lucy's head lulled to the side, a series of coughs slipping through her lips as she came to and scrunched her eyes shut in pain. Her desperate heaving for air only drew more dust and other particles into her lungs as she lied on her back, dazed beyond being able to comprehend what was happening.

The blonde had taken no more than two steps around the corner to the rear of the ship when she'd been blown backwards, the subsequent slamming of her head against the wall briefly stealing her consciousness away from her.

She couldn't hear a thing, and when she opened her eyes, she could hardly make out anything among the smoke that was billowing through the hallways of the ship.

Instinct had her fighting to get to her feet despite how her body was aching from being thrown back, so she curled herself upwards, sliding her arms beneath her to support herself as she rested on her elbows for a moment.

A wince poured through her clenched teeth as her head pounded with the movement, slowly becoming conscious of the feeling of blood sliding down the side of her face and threatening to drip over her eyebrow and into her right eye.

She tensed when the dulled, nearly muted sound of heavy footfalls reached her ears, growing closer with every step. But she couldn't move, her body freezing even further when a figure cut through the smoke, their features becoming more clear the nearer they got.

Black hair tumbled over broad shoulders in choppy clumps, the edges of his wild mane brushing against his muscled chest and arms. A pair of red eyes settled on her, so stark against the neutral color of the smoke that they seemed to be glowing.

Lucy couldn't help but cower into herself, her hands futilely striving to shove herself backwards while a metal bat swung tauntingly through the air above her.

* * *

 **AN**

 **See, I told you Gajeel would be coming back. Some of you were speculating that the last arc was going to be the one with all the Phantom Lord peeps, but no, my children… _this_ is my version of the Phantom Lord arc. This arc was one of the ones that I came up with when this story was originally supposed to be a "rewrite the entire story but in such-and-such universe" fics, so expect to see some new characters and maybe learn a bit more about a certain character's past ;)**

 **Levy's here now! The rest of Team Shadow Gear will be appearing some time in the next chapters, as well. And I mean, Jet and Droy aren't all that exciting, but hey...the more characters I mention, the more hyped I get.**

 **And yes, we learned that the guild does exist in this fic, though it doesn't function exactly like it does in the original FT verse. We'll get more details on that later!**

 **I've mentioned before that there's a considerable age gap between Lucy and the rest of the crew, and now we know exactly how much younger she is. Just remember that it has a purpose, and that I'm not doing it just because I can or want to. That age gap will come into play later, I swear.**

 **Sorry if the end felt rushed, we've just had some severe thunder and hail storms lately, and I live in kind of a remote area, so the power's been really iffy these past few weeks. I just wanted to get the chapter finished before my laptop died :)**

 **I hope to update more frequently now that I'm officially done with school and work for the summer. I'll try to have another chapter out sometime next week!**

 **As always, thank you so much for reading and I'd love to hear your thoughts! See you next time!**


	12. Chapter 12

The marketplace had dissolved into chaos.

Dust flew through the air, both from the explosion and the scuttling feet of the mass of people it sent fleeing in its wake. People were screaming, their words, if there were any, completely unintelligible in the swarm of panicked voices.

Natsu fought through the fleeing crowd to get back to their ship, running against the flow and towards the source of the explosion. The pilot had lost track of Gray amongst the crowd a while back, though he was sure the mechanic couldn't be too far behind him and he didn't have the mind to spare on his crewmate at the moment. Curses hadn't stopped pouring through his lips since the ground had shaken in time with the sound of the boom and rising pillar of smoke in the distance, and there wasn't an ounce of remorse in him as he harshly shoved terrified, retreating civilians out of his way.

He desperately hoped Erza hadn't strayed as far in her quest to replenish their food supply as he and Gray had, and that she was already at their ship, dealing with whatever it was that had thought it a good idea to pick a fight with them out of the blue. It was taking far too long for the pair of boys to fight their way through the marketplace, and Natsu knew well the catastrophe that could be waged and damage that could be inflicted in mere minutes.

The earlier alarm on his wristband had indicated an attempt at a breech in the rear of their ship, and if the following explosion was anything to go by, whoever had wanted aboard succeeded.

Which meant that Lucy was in danger. He could only hope that she hadn't been injured by the blast, but even if she hadn't, the possibility of her being found out was still very much real and looming overhead, weighing closer with each moment the intruder was inside their ship.

Natsu told himself that it was just looters looking for supplies to pillage and sell. On a planet as rundown and unruly as this, such people would certainly be plentiful.

But deep down, a fear of something much worse was festering. They were close to Balam territory, and given Lucy's importance to the Alliance's cause, there would undoubtedly be people on the prowl, scourging every planet until she was found.

His fears were yet to be confirmed, but the pilot was already feeling regret just for the possibility of it all. It'd been stupid of him and his crewmates to leave her on her own like that, regardless of whether or not her abilities allowed her to defend herself.

As Natsu got closer to the landing pad where they'd left their ship, the crowd around him thinned until he was running full speed on his own. But the dust in the air got thicker, making it harder to see and breathe. He adjusted his speed accordingly, slowing to a hurried walk to avoid charging ahead blind. He bent his arm up towards his face and buried his mouth and nose in the inside of his elbow in a futile attempt at sparing his lungs from having to inhale the tainted air, his other arm attempting to swat the dust from out of his line of sight.

There were a few unconscious bodies littering the surrounding ground; probably unfortunate passerby that had been caught in the blast's radius by pure accident. Flaming pieces of their ship were scattered around the area, too, though the flames were slowly dying off as they burned through the ship's wiring and insulation, leaving only ash-covered chunks of metal behind.

He continued closer to their landing pad, the patch of darkness in the midst of the smoke turning into a gaping hole in their back of their ship. The section of wall that had also served as the ramp had been completely blasted off, and it lay flat on the ground below the newly made opening, one of its edges charred.

Natsu started when he heard footfalls and a scraping in the dirt behind him. He whipped around with his body tensed for fight, but he turned to find that Gray had finally caught up, lines trailing after the mechanic's feet from he'd skidded to a stop.

The raven haired boy's arm was held over his mouth like Natsu's was, his eyes squinted against the particles in the air as he surveyed the area. His voice was muffled by his elbow as he hissed, "What the hell happened?"

Natsu didn't have an answer, but even if he had, he would've been cut off.

Immediately following Gray's question, something tumbled from the hole in the back of the ship and landed heavily on the slab of metal that had once been the ramp. The resounding thud reached Natsu's ears at the same moment he was able to make out the fluttering blonde hair attached to the limp figure that'd fallen.

"Lucy!"

She'd landed heavily on her side before her body tipped on its back, her arms listlessly toppling down on either side of her head.

To the pilot, it looked as if she hadn't even tried to catch herself.

In the brief moment before his impulse to run forward and help her, he processed that she still wasn't moving, lying motionless and limp on her back with blood splattered across her forehead and running down her face.

Natsu had only taken two steps before he was skidding to a halt at the sight of a silhouette above the blonde, separated from the darkness inside the ship by a drift of smoke.

There was another thud as the silhouette jumped from the back of their ship, landing heavily right beside the blonde on the metal slab.

The continuous dispersion of the dust and smoke in the air combined with the somewhat lessened distance allowed Natsu to finally pick out some details, the dark silhouette giving way to a man with black, mane-like hair and a muscular, tan build.

Natsu's eyes narrowed, his heart hammering in his chest.

" _You,_ " the pilot hissed, all of the anger he'd felt during their brief fight on Ameri flooding back into his system. As the man loomed over Lucy's limp body, any sort of relation the pilot might've felt with this guy over their shared connection to the planet of Invit went up in flames.

Not only was this bastard probably the one who'd blown a hole in the back of his ship, an act that was already unforgiveable in Natsu's books, but he'd hurt Lucy, too. The same bat Natsu had seen him with earlier was clutched in one of his fists and hanging at his side, giving the pilot a very clear and brutal image of how the blonde's head had come to be splattered with blood; how she'd subsequently been knocked unconscious.

For hurting one of his friends in such a way, Natsu would make him pay dearly.

"That's him, isn't it?" Gray breathed lowly at the pilot's side, his hand going to the blaster at his hip. "The one Juvia said to look out for."

Gajeel. That was what she'd called him.

The man finally straightened himself out from where he'd landed in a crouch, his red eyes settling on the pair of boys in a glower as he lowly growled, "Get out of my way. Or I'll knock _you_ out, too."

Natsu's eyes narrowed even further.

Something was different about this guy. He looked more ferocious, even a bit more savage. When they'd spoken and fought on Ameri, there had at least been some semblance of cunningness and tact in his irises. But now, his eyes were feral and rimmed with purple and red, his voice much more gravely and worn. Sweat poured down his skin in rivets, cutting lines in the dust and grime clinging to him. He looked almost… _diseased_ ; like there was something eating away at him.

What the hell had happened to him since he'd taken off from Ameri?

Before anyone could do or say anything more, Erza came running into the area from Natsu and Gray's right. Her eyes were wide as she assessed the situation in a split section, her focus jumping from her crewmates to their enemy, and finally to the blonde in the man's grasp.

Her eyes narrowed as she squared her feet, "You."

Her appearance seemed to spur Gajeel out of his threat making, the lessening chances of him being able to take them all out driving him into a plan of escape rather than attack.

His upper body shot forward and his hand fisted in a clump of Lucy's hair. A high-pitched whimper slipped through the blonde's lips as he used his grip on her locks to yank her upper body from the ground.

"I said," he ground out over another soft whine as he yanked on the blonde's hair once more, as if threatening to use her as leverage against them, " _get out of my way_."

The moment the second whimper slipped through Lucy's lips, Gray had drawn his blaster from the holster at his hip and taken his aim. It was a warning, one that seemed to have absolutely no effect on Gajeel.

Natsu took a hurried step forward in time with his crewmate's draw, mentally bombarding himself with insults for ignorantly thinking himself capable enough to venture out of their ship without taking a blaster with him. But still, he knew he could take this guy on with just his bare hands. They'd fought hand-to-hand on Ameri, and they'd been on par, even though the pilot had been dazed from his near drowning. Natsu wanted to take him on again, sure that he'd be able to beat him this time since he was back to his full strength.

The only thing stopping him from tackling the guy was the limp blonde in his grasp.

Erza hadn't armed herself with a weapon when she'd disembarked either, but that didn't stop her from taking a step forward, too, and fiercely demanding, "Leave her alone!"

"I'm afraid that isn't going to happen."

At the new voice, Gray changed his target, whipping around to face the new threat emerging from the smoke to their left. He found himself aiming at a man wearing the charcoal gray uniform of the Alliance military. His burgundy hair was slicked into a ponytail at the center of the back of his head, a matching mustache curling over his upper lip. His uniform was moderately decorated with a few badges, which meant that he was at least somewhat someone of repute and high standing. Through the remaining particles of dust and smoke wafting through the air, the crew of the three could barely make out the name PORLA embroidered in black on the left breast of his uniform.

Despite the blaster trailing him as he moved, he appeared entirely at ease as he came to a stop near Gajeel and the downed blonde, his hands clasped behind his back as he smoothly proclaimed, "He's doing this to prove his worth. The Alliance doesn't take back failures."

Erza shifted on her feet, her narrowed eyes jumping to Lucy before zeroing in on the newly arrived enemy and her fists clenched as she spat, "So they don't take failures, but they attack and abduct innocent civilians?"

"What? You mean _her_?" Porla questioned, quirking an eyebrow as his eyes briefly jumped to the blonde, half in his subordinate's grasp and still sprawled across the ground. He chuckled heartily as he repeated, "An innocent civilian…"

"Cut the bullshit," Gajeel ground out. His eyes bored into Natsu's as he hissed, "I realized who she was the second you called her name."

The pilot's brows furrowed.

When he'd called her name? When had he done that?

His mind raced over his hazy memories of their fight, but honestly, he couldn't recall more than a few details. He could remember finding the man's brand, and when his crewmates had shown up afterwards, though, one of them with Lucy slung over their back. That was when he must've called out her name, when he'd been too out of it to think things through and stop himself.

The consequences of that simple action hadn't occurred to him then, but now he was facing them head-on.

Lucy was getting taken again, and it was all because of him and his carelessness.

Porla smirked, probably relishing in the traces of regret that'd snaked across Natsu's face before all amusement dropped from his features in an instant, his voice low as he commanded, "Sol."

A quick, but loud snap was the only warning they had before something whizzed through the air.

Gray was the first to go down, his blaster clattering in the dirt as he was struck in the back.

Natsu and Erza were dealt their own blows before he'd even hit the ground. The projectiles hit them from behind and wrapped around their torsos, the force sending them toppling right beside their crewmate.

The pilot let out a grunt as the impact of his chin hitting the ground rocketed up through his jaw and continued through the rest of his skull, his neck screeching with pain from his head snapping upwards as he was unable to catch himself. His arms had been caught beneath whatever it was that'd struck him in the back before wrapping around him in a flash, and it was still pulling tight around his chest now.

He tried to flip onto his back in his struggle to free himself of his bonds, but he only managed to make it onto his side before he felt resistance. Whatever had wrapped around his middle was clinging to the ground. His jaw clenched as he hunched to see what it was.

It was a silvery, thick tether of sorts, with tiny, metal ridges lining its entirety. It seemed to cleave onto whatever surface it touched, whether it be skin, fabric, or the ground, further prohibiting its victim's movement as it tightened between the points of contact.

That fact didn't stop Natsu, however, the pilot grappling to get his arms free by thrashing his entire body around as he growled, "The hell is this?!"

"Inhibiter's Chord," Porla answered, satisfaction dancing in his irises as he watched them writhe on the ground. His smirk deepened as he watched the redhead in particular, her teeth clenched to fight off the pain as the chord tightened around where it'd caught one of her arms behind her back, pulling at her shoulder joint, "The more you struggle, the tighter it gets."

With the crew of three taken care of for the moment, Porla lifted his arm in a command, sharply demanding again, "Sol."

A scrawny man in a uniform identical to Porla's, though it was far less decorated with medals, slinked through the downed crew of three, passing something into his superior's grasp.

Porla's focus returned to his other subordinate and his hostage. His voice was a lot less amused, near disgust in his gaze as he looked down at Lucy's bloodied face and pressed, "She is still alive, isn't she, Redfox? She's useless to us without a pulse."

Gajeel's didn't answer with words, his response coming in the way he suddenly loosened his grip on Lucy's hair, her upper body slumping back to the floor. The blonde let out a raspy cough as her back hit hard metal again, her head dazily lulling to the other side.

"Then restrain her before she wakes up," Porla sneered, shoving a pair of thick cuffs into Gajeel's chest.

The man growled as he was bossed around, but he snatched the cuffs from where they were pressed against his chest, dropping to a crouch at the blonde's side and wrenching her arms up.

Natsu was still thrashing around in his own restraints despite knowing that he was only making things worse for himself, but Erza had long since stopped struggling, her eyes narrowed and hurriedly scanning their surroundings.

Gray knew she was looking for an out, and he wished he could find some way to tell her that one rested in the dirt mere inches from his left hand. His arms had been stretched in front of him when he'd first been hit with the chord, so unlike Natsu and Erza, they weren't pinned to his sides. Instead the tether was pinning his arms and upper body against the ground, clinging to the packed dirt beneath them. His blaster had been knocked from his grasp when he'd been hit, but it hadn't skidded far, landing only inches from where his left hand was now pinned.

He glanced upwards. The man who'd brought the cuffs had disappeared behind them again, and neither Porla nor Gajeel were paying any attention to him. The former was watching the later cuff Lucy's wrists together in front of her with mechanized restraints, the open circles snapping shut around her wrists once they'd been properly placed.

As quietly as he could, Gray began to stretch his left hand forward.

Natsu, still stuck on his side, wrenched his head upwards to watch Gajeel as he knelt next to Lucy, "When she wakes up, you're so screwed."

"You mean her abilities?" Porla cast a disinterested glance at the pilot, seemingly not at all intimidated by his growl, "Then it'd probably upset you to know that I was the one who made her what she is, so of course I would know how to take those powers away, too."

Erza clenched her jaw. That had to be what those mechanized restraints were for, at least in part.

"You bastard," Natsu snarled, his pent up sympathy for Lucy pouring out of him as anger at the inhumane nature of what this guy had put the blonde through.

"It's only been five weeks since she escaped," Porla remarked with another quirk of his brow. "Have you really grown so attached in such a short period of time?"

In actuality, the amount of time had been much shorter than that for the crew of three, as they'd only really met the blonde less than a week ago. But that fact didn't matter, and there was something much larger at stake by allowing them to take Lucy back.

Still crouched down beside her, Gajeel silently moved to pick her up again and finally take her away. His red rimmed eyes swiveled upwards in a glower when Porla held a hand out in front of his face, signaling a halt. The superior gave a slight tilt of his head in the crew's direction, and Gajeel once more begrudgingly obeyed.

He fisted a hand in the front of Lucy's shirt, tugging her upwards before tossing her forwards.

The blonde's limp body skidded and rolled to a stop on her side directly in front of the crew of three, her bloodied face now clearly in sight for them to see.

Unlike before, there was no whimper or whine this time as she was tossed about.

Natsu's lips pulled back in a snarl as he watched the display. He had no doubts that Porla's plan was to kill them because they knew too much, but it seemed like he wanted to toy with them a little longer.

"Well, since it seems you already know all about what she can do…" the Alliance militant started walking towards the downed trio, his lips quirking in a hideous, malicious grin, "…Wouldn't you like to know a bit more? All of the things I'm positive she kept secret from you?"

Though their faces were twisted with fury, the crew of three couldn't deny their curiosity. They did want to know more, and they had ever since Lucy had first taken down the creature that'd attacked them nearly a week ago.

Porla stopped right behind the blonde, lifting a booted foot and placing it atop the side of her head, tilting her face more directly towards them and pressing her head in the dirt. His smirk dropped into a sneer, his voice low as he ground out, "About the _billions_ of people who have died because of her?"

Though his crewmates may have reacted differently, especially Gray, Natsu gave himself only a moment to be caught off guard by Porla's claim.

It was bullshit, anyways. There was no way what he'd said could be true. Lucy was delighted by things as simple as stargazing and caring for plants. The pilot could swear she'd nearly been in tears when she'd thanked him for the chocolate. And, most convincing of all, she'd _saved_ him. He was basically a complete stranger, but still, she'd revealed the very abilities that'd made her go into hiding and used them to save him. Twice.

How could a girl like that be responsible for the death of billions?

There was just no way it was true, and Natsu wasn't going let this guy tell him otherwise, "That's fucking bullshit, and you know it!"

Porla's grin returned to his features at the boy's outburst, grinding his foot further into the side of the blonde's head, "Perhaps you'd like to know about her most famous work."

"Shut up!" the salmon haired pilot hissed, not one to tolerate being ignored so easily.

His eyes scanned over the crew of three in anticipation as he lowly questioned, "Ever heard of the Oleum Massacre?"

Gray suddenly stopped fighting against the tethers' pull to reach his blaster, his entire body going stiff.

Natsu's brows furrowed.

Oleum Massacre? Didn't that have something to do with the end of the war? The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't recall any specifics no matter how hard he tried. After moving to Invit, a planet far from the warfront, not many details about the war made it his way. And even though he'd been forced to take courses on the war while he'd been training with the Council, he hadn't bothered remembering any specifics. His interest was in piloting anyways, so he hadn't deemed that information necessary.

He finally tore his focus away from Lucy and Porla, looking to Gray to see the mechanic's reaction to the name drop. Since she was the most knowledgeable about the war out of the three of them, he would've looked at Erza had he not been stuck on his side, with his back to her.

His brows stayed furrowed when he saw how tense Gray's body was, how the mechanic was staring at the man towering over Lucy with wide eyes and an open mouth, his expression almost one of…fear?

"It all happened because of her," Porla purred, gazing down at the blonde while he finally withdrew his boot only to crouch down at her side and leer over her limp form. "All those people dead…" he reached forward to tug a blood-coated strand of hair from where it'd been matted against her skin, his voice dropping so low in volume that Natsu barely caught his last words, "…because of a father's love…"

The pilot didn't have time to process or react to what he'd heard.

Porla sharply shoved himself to his feet, turning to face Gajeel and giving a nod in the limp blonde's direction.

Natsu grit his teeth as he watched the red eyed man come stalk forward, crouching down at Lucy's side before roughly grabbing her around her middle. Her body hung limp as she was lifted, Gajeel throwing her over his shoulder like she didn't weigh a thing.

"Sol," Porla called out again as he walked through the downed crew, Gajeel following behind him with the limp blonde, "finish them off."

Natsu tried to flail one of his legs out to trip either of them as they passed, but the chord had grown too tight. He didn't have the mind to regret struggling so restlessly earlier, but he was well aware of how hard it was breath when his torso was wrapped so tightly, and it was really pissing him off. He'd had enough of feeling short of breath and having achy lungs.

And there was another circumstance he'd faced on Ameri that'd returned to bite him in the ass.

Gajeel was getting away again, and he was taking Lucy with him this time.

His and Porla's retreating footfalls were soon overcome by a pair of advancing footsteps, and the same man who'd brought Porla the cuffs, and probably the one who'd shot the chord at them from behind, came waltzing into sight.

Natsu set his glower on the new threat, taking note of his spikey green hair and the strange, high tech lens that covered his right eye.

It seemed like the man shared a few traits with Porla, choosing to relish in their helplessness for a moment before he took them out. He paced before all three of them, swinging the blaster in his right hand haphazardly about as if showing it off to them in order to intimidate them. He was mumbling in another language as he did so, but he was speaking loud enough that Natsu got the impression that he was taunting them. It was a language he knew he'd heard before, but he couldn't place it.

Despite the pain from the already tight chord, Natsu decided that now was as good a time as any to keep struggling like hell to break free. He could hear Erza doing the same, but such a thing couldn't be said about Gray. Natsu's jaw clenched when he took note of how the mechanic was still numbly frozen.

Seriously…what the hell was wrong with him?

A bright, blue light suddenly whizzed overhead, and Natsu's gaze shot to follow its trajectory, his jaw dropping open when the blast hit the guy who'd been ready to kill them in the chest.

Porla's subordinate choked as his wide eyes fell to where he'd been hit, his body swaying for a moment before he collapsed and landed on his back, his chest steaming with the aftermath of the blast as his limbs went limp and his choked breathing ceased.

Natsu looked down, catching sight of a familiar duo standing just behind them, "Jet! Droy!"

"What are you guys doing here?" Erza questioned, her gaze following Droy as he came to kneel at her side to let her free.

Jet fell to his knees at Natsu's side, aiming his blaster at a section of the chord that held the pilot's hips against the ground as he urged, "Hold still."

Breaking the chord seemed to deactivate it, and the second it was hit by the blast, it loosened, uncoiling and piling on the ground beneath its former captive.

Natsu took in a deep breath as the pressure around his ribcage disappeared, flopping onto his back and letting his arms splay out to his sides.

Gray stayed slumped where he was too once Jet set him free, sitting up to stare numbly down at his lap with his head hung.

"It's a good thing Levy sent us," Droy hummed, placing his hands proudly on his hips.

Jet nodded in agreement, smiling smugly, "You guys would've been toast if we hadn't come."

Natsu scoffed to himself as he glowered up at them. Their less risky job earned them little glory, so of course they'd take the chance to make themselves out as big heroes.

"Levy…" Erza repeated slowly, nodding after thinking things over. Jet and Droy were here, so it made sense that the girl would be here, too. She fixed the duo with narrowed eyes, "Well…where is she now?"

Jet glanced at Droy before he just shrugged, "She didn't say. She just sent us your coordinates and told us to come help you out."

"This is all my fault," Natsu mumbled miserably as he finally sat up, throwing the last of the chord to the ground from where it'd been hanging over his shoulder.

"Stop being stupid," Erza spat. "It wasn't like you knew he was aware of who she was." She glanced between the four boys before her, her voice forceful as she made to move out and commanded, "Come on. We need to catch up to them."

Gray eyes widened incredulously, seeming to finally snap out of whatever it was that had made him freeze up earlier. There was something bitter and loathsome underlying his tone as he hissed, "You guys seriously want to go after them? They just wiped the floor with us!"

"They took Lucy!" Natsu snapped back immediately as he shot to his feet. To him, those three words were all the explanation needed.

"So what," Gray ground out, his focus dropping to the ground again. "You heard what that guy said. She's a murderer."

A growl shot from Natsu's mouth as he dove for the mechanic, fisting his hands in the collar of the boy's jacket and yanking him to his feet, "You really believe in that bullshit?! I've had it with you and all your shit about not trusting Lucy!"

"Boys!" Erza hissed, trying to step between the two, "This isn't the time for this!"

Natsu wasn't having any of it, still holding fast to Gray's collar and nearly throttling the mechanic as he growled, "You're always talkin' 'bout how it's hard for you to trust other people, but it seemed like you were all buddy-buddy with that chick on Ameri. And you knew her for what, a day?"

"Juvia's different," Gray hissed, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

"How?! How is she any different?!"

The mechanic finally fought back, shaking Natsu's grip from his collar and shoving him backwards by his shoulders as he ground out, "She's not some… _thing_ , some _inhuman experiment_ that the Alliance created to start another war!"

A fist caught him in the jaw before he could dodge it, his head snapping to the side and the rest of his body following suit as he landed on his rear on the ground.

Natsu stood over him, his chest heaving as he fumed, "Just because the alliance sees Lucy as a weapon, you think it's okay to do the same?! Since when did we stoop to their level of inhumanity?! Lucy's still a person, no matter what they've done to her!"

Erza's gaze had dropped to the ground. While Jet and Droy were watching with confused faces, she knew full well the events backing Natsu's words. While the pilot was incredibly confident and independent, sometimes incredulously so, he often grew attached rather easily.

It seemed like Lucy was no exception, and the redhead didn't blame him. Despite her timidity and quirks, the blonde had been genuine and sincere. For however brief a time, it'd been nice to have another girl aboard, and Erza wouldn't have minded it at all if she'd stayed a little longer.

Natsu's eyes were still fixed on Gray in a sharp glare, but his tone lost all of its heat, his voice firm and deathly calm as he snapped, "If you don't want to get her back because you consider her a friend, then at least do it because if we don't," he clenched his jaw, growling through grit teeth, "the Alliance wins."

A sudden wind swept down the street behind them, ruffling their hair and clothes and sending dust fluttering through the air once more.

With a heavy, grim weight settling in his chest, Natsu turned over his shoulder.

The misery he'd buried beneath his anger puddled to the surface as he watched the large spacecraft that'd just risen into the sky from across the marketplace jump to light speed and disappear. That was the Alliance's ship. He had no doubt about it.

* * *

Levy bit her bottom lip as she held on fast to the strap running across her chest, fighting against the anxious habit of bouncing her leg when she was nervous. Sweat was beginning to run down her skin, both from wearing a sweater in a hot place and from being in a place she wasn't supposed to be.

Why, oh _why_ had she thought this was a good idea?

Following after Natsu and Gray when they'd charged from the parts shop and hanging back behind the corner of a building to wait for backup before trying to intervene while Erza and the boys spoke with those guys from the Alliance had been a good idea. Trailing after the commander and burly, black haired guy had seemed like a pretty smart idea to her, even though she had no idea who the blonde was and why she'd been aboard her friends' ship. She'd taken refuge in another alley as the two men disappeared aboard a large spacecraft, figuring she could wait for the others to get there once Jet and Droy had saved them and they could all charge onto the ship together or something of the like.

But after a few minutes, the ramp of the ship had started to lift, and she'd panicked, knowing she'd lose any chance she had at helping her friends rescue the mysterious blonde if they took off and jumped into light speed.

Her body had reacted before her mind could really think things through, and she'd found herself flying forward as fast as her legs could carry her, jumping up and just barely managing to hoist herself through one of the shrinking gaps between the ramp and the ship. She'd rolled out of the way of the closing ramp, finding herself on her stomach in the middle of the ship's cargo hold.

With her heart pounding, she'd braced her hands beneath her shoulders, her eyes hurriedly jumping about the area to figure out if she'd been seen. But all she could see were stacks of boxes and cases, the only sound being that of the air support system ventilating air into the area.

Caution was still one of her primary concerns, even though it seemed she was the only person in the hold. She'd been as quiet as possible when she'd pushed herself to her feet, staying down in a crouch as she ventured into the maze of boxes to hide herself.

That was how she'd ended up where she was, aboard an enemy ship as it lifted off from the ground.

She took a deep breath and swallowed heavily in an attempt to ease her dry throat, tucking herself further into her corner as she reached into the bag at her hip to pull out her tablet with the cracked screen.

She had to get in contact with those she'd left in the marketplace.

* * *

 **AN**

 **Hello again! I think this chapter was pretty straight forward, so I don't have much to say...**

 **Thank you so much for reading! I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I'll see you next time!**


	13. Chapter 13

Cold.

That was the first thing Lucy processed as she came to, though it was quickly overshadowed by another feeling: pain. Her head was pounding, harder than it ever had before. It took her a few moments to push past the headache and open her eyes. When she finally did manage to open them, her vision swam, and for that reason, she was grateful for the dimness of the light pouring over her.

Where was she though?

There was nothing but dark, smooth metal all around, incasing her in a small, rectangular room. At first, she couldn't even distinguish a door in the dim glow cast by the strips of light that ran along where the walls met the floor. But as she blinked her eyes a few times to get them adjusted, she caught sight of a thin seam on the wall farthest from her.

She'd seen most of the ship she'd spent the last month on, and she couldn't remember seeing a room like this. She couldn't remember how she'd ended up here, on the ground, either. But she didn't think she'd left the ship given the risks she'd face by venturing out into the open.

That was why she'd stayed behind while the crew of three went out in the market. And when they'd returned, she'd started walking to the back of the ship to the meet them at the ramp, and then-

The explosion.

Lucy's eyes went wide as she remembered the blast and what had followed. She'd hit her head when she'd been blown backwards, and only moments later, she'd been hit across the temple with the end of a metal bat. That was, no doubt, the reason her head hurt so much.

Naturally, her mind went to the man who'd wielded the weapon.

Who the hell was he?

She didn't think she'd ever seen him before, because she'd certainly remember a face like his. And she hadn't seen anything on him or his clothes that could give her any clues as to who he was. Or, at least, she hadn't seen anything in the few seconds of staring at him she'd gotten before he'd knocked her out.

All she knew was that he didn't look quite… _right._ Like there was something wrong with him, or something had been done to him.

The blonde could feel cuffs around her wrists. Cuffs were for restraint, and that meant she'd been taken somewhere where she wasn't meant to move around at her own will; somewhere that more than like posed a few risks. The suspect of her capture was, without a doubt, the man who'd blown a hole in the back of her friends' ship.

Although there was a creeping, terrifying thought in the back of her mind about who he might work for and where he'd taken her to, or, rather, where he'd _returned_ her to, her mind sought out other possibilities, both to figure out a plan of action and shove that awful thought aside.

Was he holding her for ransom, or was he some sort of sick trafficker? She'd had the misfortune of running into a group of men like that before, when she was just a kid back on her home planet. She'd been in the local market on her own, searching for that mindarin fruit her mother had sent her for, when a stranger had grabbed her wrist and tried to drag her away. He'd stopped and run off the second one of the old women running a nearby stall caught sight of them and called out, but what had happened was more than enough to leave an impression on her as a child.

But that time was long gone, and of little importance to her in this moment.

What mattered now was who that man was, where she was, and if there was any chance at getting out. And, to do that, she needed to move, no matter how intensely her head was pounding.

Having her hands cuffed certainly didn't make things easier, but she knew she could manage, closing her eyes shut in preparation for the aching that she knew was coming as she brought her wrists in front of her face. Her head pulsed in protest to being lifted, so she clenched her teeth and took things slow as she pressed her upper body off the floor, sliding her legs around in front of her so she could lean back on the wall behind her.

A heavy sigh slowly brushed through her lips once she'd settled, resting her elbows on her bent knees as she brought her hands up to finger the origin of her discomfort. At least that guy, or whoever her captor was, had had the decency to bandage her wound and clean up the blood she'd felt on her face after the blast.

They hadn't had the decency to give her a blanket though, since she was absolutely freezing. She briefly wondered why she was so cold when she was wearing a sweatshirt, or, at least, she _had_ been wearing one back on the ship. The prickling chill of the metal beneath her easily seeping through the fabric over her back let her know that such was probably no longer the case.

A sick feeling crawled up her spine at the thought of someone changing her while she was unconscious, the twisting deep in her gut giving her the motivation to peel her eyes open again.

One glance down at the cuffs on her wrists and what she was wearing gave her all of the answers she needed about her current predicament.

The clothes she was in now, a long sleeve shirt and pair of matching pants, were a clean and pristine white. They were loose, but not so loose that they would get in her way and hinder her movement, the only tight part of the ensemble being the high collar that hugged her neck.

Lucy didn't need to be able to see it to know that the front of the collar held an identification number, the same number she'd been given when she was eleven.

That horrible thought festering in the back of her mind had been true. She was back.

All of Jellal's work to set her free had only earned her a month. It had only set the Alliance back by a little more than four weeks.

Lucy supposed she should've felt frightened to be back in the hands of the people who'd tormented her for five years, but, to her own surprise, she wasn't afraid of what they might do her. She'd always known that the Alliance would catch up eventually. They were a massive galactic force, and she was just one person who'd had the help of a grand total of four people, and three of them had been mostly unwitting in their aid to her cause, at least at first.

She wasn't afraid to face her tormentors again, nor to be subject to the pain and exhaustion of their experiments once more.

What had her feeling terrified was the fact that now the Alliance had a chance at answering the question as to why they'd succeeded with her, and her alone. They had a chance at figuring out what made her different, and it was highly unlikely that they'd let their guard down so she could slip away again.

And now that she knew people outside the Alliance's ranks, the prospect of Balam conquering the galaxy was even more terrifying. The thought had always plagued her, but it'd been easier to deal with back then, when she hadn't had anyone other than Jellal to fear for.

But now there was Natsu, Erza, Gray, Juvia, and the other Amerans, whose faces would stay with her despite how short the time she'd spent with them had been. When the time came, they would all fight back against the Alliance, or at least the crew of the three undoubtedly would, which meant they'd likely be killed.

Lucy hoped they didn't come for her. Even though she'd gotten the impression that those three were capable of some pretty incredible things, she didn't think taking the Alliance head on all on their own was one of them.

Considering the slim chances of her getting away again, she hoped that once they realized what'd happened, if they hadn't already, Natsu and the others told _everyone_ about what she was. That way, they'd know what was coming, and what they had to fear. Then, maybe the Council could intervene and stop the Alliance before they made an entire army of soldiers like her. They'd won the last war, even if only by a thin margin, so shouldn't they be capable of beating the Alliance again?

There was a sharp click, followed by the sound of the door sliding into the wall.

The hallway outside wasn't lit any better than the room she was in, but it was enough for her to see who waited beyond.

It was him again, the guy that'd knocked her out with the bat.

She pressed her back into the wall as a shiver snaked through her veins before her mind could process any thoughts of terror, her body reacting to the presence of the one who'd hurt her before she could even think to be afraid of him.

Her body screamed at her to get away, but she knew better than to follow her instincts in this moment. He'd already hurt her once, and he would probably do it again, especially if provoked by her attempt at an escape.

And an attempt at escape would fruitless anyways. He'd taken a step inside her cell, forming a blockade between her and the door. There was no way she'd be able to get past him when the familiar cuffs on her wrists stopped her from using her abilities, and even if she could use them, this guy could probably still take her down.

Without the smoke and dust hindering her view of him, he looked even more intimidating than he had back on the ship. He towered over her, and Lucy knew that such would still be the case even if she was standing, and his shoulders had to be at least twice as broad as hers. The skin around his eyes was patched with all sorts of reds and purples with a horrid yellow undertone, but they didn't seem to be bruises. The discoloration seemed to be internal, and it was only just seeping onto the surface.

Lucy sucked in a sharp breath as a thought came to mind.

Riding humanity of their need for the most basic means of survival wasn't the only advancement the Alliance was striving to make. They'd lost their perfect soldiers, the mindless androids that ran on the programing the Alliance fed them, just before the end of the war.

Now they were seeking to get them back. But not by rebuilding them, because androids were useless against their enemy now that the Council had developed weapons to be used against them.

Instead, they were using humans. They were seeking the perfection of machine not only by abolishing their need to eat and sleep, but also by ridding them of their morals and values, too, even the value they believed their own life held. They were turning them into the mindless soldiers their androids had once been, the ones that obeyed their every command with no regard for their own well-being.

Lucy considered herself lucky for not being subjected to _those_ experiments. She'd still suffered while they modified her biology, but at least she'd been allowed to keep her mind.

She'd seen those people after their minds had been melted. Slept in a room in the same cellblock as them.

They'd been pushed to mindlessness, but it hadn't been the kind the Alliance was after. It was pure insanity. Tampering with a person's brain, the very motor of their existence, had had dire consequences, not only on their thoughts, but on the rest of their bodies, too. Some suffered complete paralysis or had chronic spasms, while others' side effects were much more gruesome.

And some of them had ended up looking a lot like the guy in front of her did.

Before she could stop herself, a question slipped through her lips in a shaky, quiet breath, "What did they do to you?"

The blonde had quickly developed a nasty habit of doing that on the ship with Natsu and the others, speaking her thoughts right as they came to her. One brief month of freedom had served as too much of a contrast to the five years she'd spent under the Alliance's hold, and it seemed that she'd allowed herself to acclimate to that freedom rather quickly.

She wasn't expecting an answer to the question she'd unintentionally asked, but he responded with a gravelly voice that matched his rugged appearance as he glared down at her much smaller form, "The Alliance doesn't really like it when things don't go as planned."

Lucy's brows furrowed, the blonde wondering whether that had been in reference to her escape or a vague answer to her question. Did he screw up, and now the Alliance was making him pay for it?

She didn't have time to ponder on the matter though, her focus snapping to the man's right hand as something long and thin slid into his palm from within his sleeve.

This wasn't the lab. There weren't any tools to make sure she stayed alive, and this guy certainly didn't look like someone whom the Alliance would trust to carry out some new procedure on her. That meant that whatever this was, it wasn't some sort of experiment, but Lucy had a pretty clear idea of what else it could be.

She dug her feet into the floor and tried to shove herself further away from him as he started forward, the wall at her back pressing against her, "You…You can't hurt me…I'm too important."

He was standing right in front of her now, his face expressionless and his right hand lifted as he taunted, "That didn't stop me before, did it?"

The blonde clenched her teeth as her head thrummed as if in remembrance of the strike he'd dealt.

"And there's always those tools back in the lab, the one's that'll fix you right up with a single zap. That means I can hurt ya as much as I want as long as I don't kill ya. It'd only take a few hours before it was like it never happened in the first place. After all, we gotta make sure you're all shiny and new for your new owner."

Lucy's eyes widened.

'New owner?'

It seemed like the Alliance's plans hadn't changed despite the complications her disappearance had caused, and she was still going to be transferred into someone else's hands.

Spriggan. The guy they'd been transporting her to when Jellal had helped her escape.

This guy was here to deliver what had to be some sort of punishment for that, for running away. Though she wouldn't put torture past them, the Alliance had never aimlessly caused her pain before. Everything she'd endured had been purposed with the Alliance's goal of creating something superhuman, and she'd become something too valuable to be tampered with.

But it seemed that by running away, she had provoked the Alliance towards change.

His fingers were in her hair before she could even flinch away from him. He used his grip to wrench her head to the side, his other hand driving the tip of the object in his right hand into her neck.

She winced at the prick of a needle in her throat before everything went black.

* * *

A gust of wind blew past, ruffling Natsu's hair and clothes as he sat on the charred ledge that'd previously held the ramp of their ship. Loose dirt was swept up from the ground and carried through the streets, dusting the abandoned stalls and settling on top of goods.

The marketplace was still empty. Had such an event occurred in the Council's territory, the scene would've been swarming with officials in a matter of minutes. But this planet was considered its own independent colony, and it seemed that its functionaries, if this planet even had any sort of government, were in no hurry to arrive.

And Natsu was glad for it.

The Alliance soldier Jet and Droy had shot was lying dead on the ground in front of him, as were two of the three market-goers that'd been lying on the sidelines of the scene when Natsu had arrived, though the pilot didn't know whether that was because of the explosion or the man who had caused it. The third was still unconscious, but they'd moved him into their med bay, where Droy had looked him over and assured the crew that he'd stay with the man until he woke.

He knew it was unfortunate that passerby had gotten caught up in their problem, but despite feeling somewhat guilty, Natsu didn't want to get caught up in the hassle of lawfully dealing with three deaths and an attack, especially not with a government from a planet as unruly as this one.

And there was another issue filling his thoughts, one that was far more important to him.

His eyes were still numbly set on the spot in the sky where the Alliance cruiser had disappeared.

Despite her earlier proclamations about chasing after the Alliance men, it seemed that the moment the ship took off at light speed, Erza had given up on the campaign at least for the moment. She hadn't said anything that indicated such, but instead of grabbing some weapons and charging off, after a few minutes of just standing there, she'd silently gone to check the still bodies that rested nearby.

The redhead and the others had all gone inside the ship when they'd taken the guy that'd survived to the med bay. But Natsu had stayed behind, staring listlessly at that spot in the sky and wallowing in the fact that as things stood, there was absolutely nothing he could do to get Lucy back.

They'd first come to this planet with the intention of repairing their ship, but now it was in a greater state of shambles than it had been when they'd arrived. And it'd been over fifteen minutes since the cruiser had taken off at light speed towards Balam Territory, which meant that even if they had a functioning ship, it was highly unlikely that they'd catch up to it before it reached its destination.

He wished things were different; that there was some way he could stop that ship and charge aboard. The absurdity and irrationality of taking on an entire Alliance cruiser on his own didn't matter to him.

And it didn't matter that Lucy had only been his friend for a week. A friend was a friend, and the loss of this one had impacts that stretched far beyond the blows dealt to his own feelings. Because not getting Lucy back wasn't just the loss of a friend, but also the possible beginning of the end.

"Natsu."

He didn't even turn around at Erza's soft call of his name, his eyes still fixed in the same spot as he gave only a short hum to let her know he was listening.

"We need you in the bridge. We're getting a video transmission from Levy."

Natsu's brows furrowed as he finally turned to look back at his crewmate.

* * *

Natsu rounded the arch that served as the entrance to the bridge with Erza just as Jet blurted, "You're on their ship?!"

The pilot's gaze found the screen to the side of the entrance, his brows furrowed as he processed Jet's question in combination with the image he saw. Levy's face could barely distinguished from the darkness from around her, and she was rather close to the screen on her end. By 'their ship,' Natsu could only assume that they were speaking of the Alliance cruiser.

"Yes!" Levy whisper-screamed back, her eyes jumping between the screen and her surroundings, "Now shut up before somebody hears you!"

"How the hell did ya end up there?" Natsu pressed, adrenaline pumping through is veins now that _two_ of his friends were in danger.

Levy bit her lip for a minute before she caved and begged, "Just promise me you guys won't think I'm stupid?"

Natsu shared a glance with Erza as Jet proclaimed, "Of course not, Levy!"

"Well…" she started with a heavy sigh, her gaze dropping as she hurriedly, but quietly blurted out the story, "Natsu and Gray ran out of that shop out of nowhere, so I knew something was wrong. I followed them, and then there was that explosion, and then those guys from the Alliance showed up. I hung back in alley while they talked to you, and the plan was wait to for back up before I tried to help you out, but then two of them left. I figured that Jet and Droy could help you out once they got there, so I tailed after the guys that'd left so we didn't lose them and ended up back at their ship."

She paused for a bit, glancing up briefly before looking down again as she confessed, "They'd left that guy behind, so I didn't think they'd leave. So when they did…I panicked and ran on board. I just...didn't want to lose them."

There was silence for a few moments as that all sunk in, and now that Natsu had heard her tale, he understood why she'd asked for them to go easy on her with their judgement. But honestly, he probably would've done the same thing. He relied on his instincts more than quick thinking whenever he was in a pinch, so he supposed he couldn't really blame her.

"They must've left when they realized that guy wasn't coming back," he thought aloud, earning him a nod from Erza.

"No one knows you're on board yet, do they?" the redhead worriedly questioned.

"I don't think so," Levy answered, still speaking in a hushed tone. "I'm in the cargo hold, and there doesn't seem to be anyone else in here right now."

"Good," Erza affirmed. She let out a heavy, but resolute sigh, the hardness in features giving away the fact that she knew exactly what she was pledging herself and her crew to, "Stay there for as long as it's safe. We're coming to get you."

Levy nodded as she bit her lip again, cinching her brows together as she hesitantly asked, "This girl…is she worth it?"

Although the phrasing was a little off, Natsu got what she meant. Levy had just been trying to help her friends, and in doing so, she'd put her life at risk by boarding an enemy ship for a girl she didn't even know.

It was a hell of a thing to do for somebody, and Natsu would make sure that the girl knew how grateful he was for that. Now, because of her, he felt that they actually had some semblance of a chance at getting Lucy back.

He took a step forward, firmly promising, "If we can get both you and her back, then putting yourself at risk like this will have been more than worth it."

Levy stared at him with a somber expression for a moment more before her lips quirked in a somewhat forced smile as she nodded her head.

She was obviously terrified. He could see it in her expression. But it seemed that Erza's pledge and his promise had had an effect, and she was a bit more at ease now than she had been before.

"This is great and all…"

Natsu whipped around at the sound of Gray's voice.

"…but it seems like you're all forgetting something."

The mechanic was in the chair in front of the console on the opposite side of the room, his arms folded over his chest and a scowl on his face.

The pilot hadn't even realized that Gray was in the bridge, but now that he knew, his mood was at least a hundred times worse than it had been before.

"Our ship's completely trashed," the mechanic pressed on, his voice both grim and forceful at the same time. "We can't even leave the atmosphere with a hole in our aft, much less travel through space."

"You can use our ship," Jet immediately offered in earnest. "It's not as well equipped for combat as yours is, but at least it's something."

"It'll be hard to catch up, though," Levy tentatively chimed in, looking apologetic for adding another problem into the mix. "I think it's been almost twenty minutes since we jumped into light speed, and their FTL drive is probably a lot stronger than the one on ours."

"And it looked like they were heading straight for Balam Territory when they took off," Erza solemnly added, her brows furrowed in thought. "If we let them reach it, we don't have a chance at beating them."

Silence fell over the bridge for few minutes, most of its occupants stumped with how to overcome the situation.

Gray suddenly let out a heavy sigh as if he was finally caving, the mechanic standing from his seat and addressing Levy, "If you can figure out how to get into their engine room, I could probably tell you how to trash their FTL drive. Then they'll be out of light speed, and we can catch up in no time."

Natsu turned to face him with a glare on his face and spite in his voice, "Oh, so _now_ you're all gung-ho about helping out?"

"I'm doing this for Levy, not Lucy," Gray spat back.

The pilot's lips quirked in a sneer as he hissed through clenched teeth, "Why do you always have to be such an asshole?"

"This isn't the time for this" Erza sharply dictated, her firm tone shutting the pair of boys up in an instant.

She pointedly glared at Gray as she whipped to face them, not leaving even a second for him to make a peep as she demanded, "I don't know what that guy said that has you all disgruntled, but we're going after them to save Levy _and_ Lucy. And if you think for a second that you're gonna do anything to get in the way of getting Lucy back, then I'm dumping you on the first planet we pass when we get back into Council Territory, got it?"

Gray didn't say a word. Her tone had left no room for such a thing. Even if the last thing she'd said had been a question, he didn't dare answer it, knowing full well that she'd follow through with that threat if he posed even the slightest argument.

Figuring his silence was enough to show that he understood, he didn't wipe the glower from his face. Especially not since Natsu was grinning with the smugness of a boy who'd gotten his sibling in trouble.

"And _you._ "

Natsu flinched when Erza suddenly rounded on him, his snarky grin fading in an instant.

" _You_ are going to do _exactly what_ I say, _when_ I say it," she ordered.

"Erza-"

"This is more than just a rescue operation. Everyone on that ship will know that we're with the Council, and pissing off the Alliance by blatantly attacking one of their cruisers is exactly the type of thing that could lead to another war. There are already plenty of risks as it stands, and we can't afford to have any screw-ups."

The pilot stared back with wide eyes and furrowed brows for a moment. Personally, he didn't think he deserved to be berated when Gray was the only one causing issues at the moment, but nevertheless, he didn't want to face more of Erza's wrath, so he answered with a soft, "Aye."

"So…" Jet tentatively started, feeling a bit unsettled now that the initial rush of adrenaline had died down, "…We're really doing it then? I mean…taking down an entire Alliance ship on our own? Just the six of us?"

A heavy sigh carried through the speakers. "Well…" Levy tentatively chimed in, "…there is someone else we could ask for help."

"Who?" Erza pressed.

"When I was looking up your ship's communication code to contact you, I noticed that there was another ship close by. But, I'm not sure if they'll help, and…" her gaze zeroed in on Natsu in particular, "…you're probably not going to like it."

The pilot looked around at the others in confusion for a brief moment before turning his gaze back to the screen, wondering why he in particular wouldn't be too excited about who it was, "Levy, at this point, I'd take help from anyone."

She quickly swiped her tongue across her lips, looking afraid of how he'd react as she stammered, "Well, that ship…it's the Thunderbird."

* * *

 **AN**

 **I think we all know who's showing up next chapter ;) Although there wasn't much action, this chapter was fun write because I simultaneously got to do some world and character building, like how Lucy was in captivity for so long that the idea of it doesn't faze her too much anymore, and that growing up in a war torn galaxy has made Natsu a little bit numb to death and such.**

 **Anyways, sorry that it took me a bit longer than usual to update. Life's been pretty busy despite it being summer.** **Also, sorry that this chapter was a tad bit shorter than usual, but I just wanted to get _something_ out rather than pushing it off longer. **

**As always, thank you so much for reading! I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I'll see you next time!**


	14. Chapter 14

Natsu had a few reasons for hating Laxus Dreyar.

In his opinion, the guy was a total asshole. He was narcissistic, arrogant, and inclined to ridiculing his supposed 'comrades.' He believed himself to be superior to anyone who he deemed less skilled than him, whether those skills be things like piloting and mechanics or physical strength. And Natsu had even known him to be rather lecherous on more than a few occasions.

And if all of that wasn't enough, the pilot's feelings about him were further tarnished by the fact that the bastard had pretty much everything Natsu wanted despite his unfavorable traits. He had a ship to pilot even though he had no legal ties to the Council, his only relation to them being that his grandfather was one of their highest ranking members. And he had a crew to maintain and run that ship, a crew over which he was captain. He was free to roam the galaxy at his own will, making money by trading and bartering rare goods and knowledge with the independent colonies on The Rim.

Working with him was usually a maelstrom, but asking Laxus for help was one of few options Natsu had if he wanted to give their crew the best chance at rescuing Lucy and Levy. Natsu's _only_ option, really.

But, then again, it wasn't exactly his choice to make, so he didn't have to deal with the blow that asking for help from someone like Laxus would deal to his pride.

That didn't mean that he wasn't still ticked off about it though.

Erza was the decision-maker on board, their 'captain' even though she'd really never been officially named as such by the Council, and the redhead had jumped to it the second the ship's name had left Levy's mouth only moments ago.

But she'd paused before fully sending the connection through, her hand freezing over the button that would transmit their signal to the Thunderbird. It seemed reality had caught up to her, and she'd realized how unlikely it was that Laxus' help would be earned by pure force alone.

They would still have to be firm, but they were going to have to be smart about how they handled the situation. Laxus relished in watching people beg for his help, but he wasn't known for giving his aid to the meek and needy. They'd have to find some way to earn his interest, or at least insure him a substantial profit, neither of which would be easily done.

With her face clenched in thought, Erza had begun to pace.

Natsu had plopped into his pilot's chair when it became obvious that this was going to take some time, resting one of his elbows atop the armrest and threading that hand through his hair in frustration as he watched the redhead pace.

Every second they spent sitting here was another couple hundred thousand miles put between them and Lucy.

But, despite his impulses, he knew that rushing in with what little plan they had was idiotic. Levy disabling the Balam cruiser's FTL drive was a major move, but it wouldn't mean a thing if they couldn't board the ship and win the fight to get the pair of girls back.

And Levy, Jet, and Droy's ship, Shadow Gear, was hardly the ship for the task. It would do well enough with getting them to their destination once the other ship's FTL drive was sabotaged, but it'd hardly stand a chance at taking the massive craft on in battle.

The Thunderbird, on the other hand, was certainly built for the task. It was one of the fastest models in the galaxy, and it could both deal and take quite a lot of damage. Enemy blasts were dispersed by its shields, their light splitting and spider-webbing across the sphere around the ship like lightning, the trait for which it'd earned its name. Its speed made it hard to target, which gave it the advantage against larger craft, which were typically armed with large, slow weapons.

It was an ideal ship for battle, and having it on their side during their attack on the Balam cruiser could mean the difference between defeat and victory.

They'd cut off contact with Levy for the time being to eliminate the risk of someone hearing her speak, figuring that since she knew her part in the plan thus far, they could get away with communicating the rest of the plan to her through text.

Droy had been dragged from the med bay and onto the bridge for the plan-making, but neither he nor Jet had made a peep.

It wasn't as if Natsu had expected either of the pair to be much help right now, anyways. This type of thing was far from their usual line of work, and they knew only a small fraction of this operation's massive scale.

It wasn't just rescuing a few friends, it was risking provoking another war, and failure to succeed would send the scales plummeting in the Alliance's favor.

That thought had kept Natsu's knee anxiously bouncing away as he repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fingers in his hair, a frustrated sigh puffing through his lips as he watched Erza pacing, "Is contacting him really even worth the time?" He lifted his head from his hand as he pressed, "I mean, we all know he's gonna say no. Even if the stakes weren't so high, I still doubt he'd help us."

Still in his seat at one of the edge consoles, Gray had a similar look of distaste as he ground out, "That bastard probably wouldn't even help the old man."

Erza suddenly stopped her pacing. It seemed her thinking had finally reached a conclusion, the redhead standing still for a moment before she turned to face the four boys and looked between them as she earnestly professed, "He'll help us."

"And what makes you think that?" Jet questioned.

"We'll offer him that thing in our cargo hold."

Images of that tentacle abomination flashed through Natsu's mind, his brows furrowing, "Isn't that supposed to go to the Council?"

"And aren't they gonna be pissed when they don't get it?" Gray added in.

With a heavy sigh, Erza began explaining her thought process, "We'll need to repair our ship eventually, so we'll have to report the damage Gajeel did if we want the Council to send us more money to fix both the engine room _and_ the aft."

Natsu growled at the mention of the name of the metal-studded bastard.

"But they know that the Alliance wouldn't just attack us out of nowhere like that, and telling them any part of the truth would inevitably lead to them finding out about Lucy eventually," Erza pressed on. "So we place the blame on looters instead. We'll say they raided our ship, took the creature, and disappeared before any of us even made it back to the landing pad. That way, this whole rescue operation will remain secret, and, therefore, Lucy will remain a secret. The fact that we need to protect her from the Council as well hasn't changed."

"That only solves a tiny part of the problem," Gray argued. "How do we know that the Alliance isn't gonna blab to the whole galaxy about us attacking them? If we don't tell anyone about them attacking us first, its gonna seem like we were the ones who started this whole ordeal."

Erza let out a deep breath again, her voice a lot less enthusiastic and even a bit grim, "Well…if we fail, then they'll have no reason to keep it secret. They'd may use it as a reason to start the war they're after."

"But," with that single word, Erza's voice had picked up again, no longer grim but now resilient, "if we succeed and take Lucy back, we'll have leverage. If they don't tell anyone about the attack, then we won't tell anyone either and our story about the looters holds. Then, on the contrary, if they tell, we tell, too. And if things escalate, we'll reveal everything we know about their experiments. Lucy. Those tentacle creatures. All of it. The Council will take action, and then the Alliance choosing to tell will be what brought about their downfall."

Silence followed in the wake of the mass she'd dropped on them.

Natsu lips were pressed into a line as his eyes swiveled about the bridge, jumping from person to person to see if they'd kept up with her. Jet and Droy were discussing things in low voices, but it seemed like they were on board, and Gray's expression was pensive as he thought over it all, but he nodded his head a few times as he thought things over. Her explanation had been hard for the pilot to follow, but he guessed that basically, everything Erza had just said meant that she had it all figured out.

He cleared his throat to break the silence, trying and failing to keep his impatience out of his voice as he asked, "So…we're doing this?"

"We just need to contact Laxus," Erza started with a nod, moving to exit the bridge and follow through with her words. "But we'll head over to the Shadow Gear first. Even if we won't start getting closer to the cruiser until Levy disables their FTL drive, we want as little distance between us and them as possible. The less time it takes us to catch up, the better."

"The let's go!" Natsu shot to his feet, ready to _finally_ get a move on. He followed Erza down the hall, noting that the other three boys were trailing a little behind, Jet and Droy because of their usual timidity and Gray because of his seemingly chronic case of grouchiness. They headed towards the training room instead of taking the path that would lead them directly to the back of the ship, intent on loading themselves with weapons.

Erza strapped a sword around her hips and holstered a few blasters on her person, continuing to give commands as she armed herself, "The second Laxus says he's helping us, Gray will show Levy how to disable the drive. Then the chase begins."

* * *

Levy jumped as a heavy thudding and sliding sound echoed through the previously silent cargo hold, a herd of voices drifting through the air in its wake.

A familiar sense of panic immediately returned to rush through her again.

She pressed further into the metal at her back, digging her feet into the ground to scoot closer to the wall of boxes at her left. At the sudden presence of startling cold on her lower back, she had to press a hand over her mouth to muffle the squeak that threatened spill from her lips.

She twisted, her gaze whipping around to find the cause.

An air vent.

Just the sight of it brought an idea to mind.

It was ridiculous, really, but it seemed like a better option than staying here, in the cargo hold, which sounded like it would soon be riddled with people.

Her hands dove into the bag at her hip, her fingers finding her sought-after tool just by touch alone. With her screwdriver now in hand, she began working on detaching the vent from the wall, casting nervous glances over her shoulder all the while.

* * *

Now that they were at light speed, Jet had sent their transmission through, and all they could do for was wait for the blank screen on the front console to light up with an image of Laxus' face. If he actually answered, that was.

Erza had said that maybe their ship being unusable was a good thing, at least for the sake of trying to get Laxus' help. He might've declined a transmission from their own ship, thinking it was Natsu trying to pester him. But a transmission from the Shadow Gear, which was manned by a crew he seemed to have very few thoughts and feeling towards, may catch his interest. If they were lucky, he would think it was Jet and Droy groveling for his help with some mission they'd screwed up, and he'd answer just for the sake of feeding his pride.

The console let out a little beep, flashing to life with an image only a moment later.

It wasn't Laxus' face that greeted them, but Freed's.

"Well," there was a tiny pause as he looked them all over once more, "you're not who I was expecting."

"We need your help," Erza firmly cut straight to the chase, knowing that enough time had already been lost.

Whether it was Erza's stone determination or Natsu's fiery glare from the corner of the screen, Freed seemed to pick up on their urgency, only a brief moment of silence passing before he activated the com in his ear with a swipe of his fingers, "Laxus, you're needed on the bridge."

In the meantime, Natsu tried to distract himself from his own anxiety and frustration by watching the stars blur past beyond the glass in front of him, but it didn't really work. If he'd been sitting in his own pilot's chair, on the bridge of his own ship, he probably would have felt at least a little bit better.

But instead, he was stuck on a ship that wasn't his own, in a chair that was far from as comfortable as his usual seat.

Another thing that would help was having more distance between him and Gray, but that wasn't really possible at the moment either, at least not if he wanted to be present for the transmission with Laxus, which he one-percent did.

The Shadow Gear's bridge was a lot smaller than the one back on their ship, leaving them little room to spread themselves out from one another. In fact, the entire ship was much, much smaller than their own. It was only one level, and more of what you would expect from a ship that had a crew of only three members. There was a single hall that led straight from the back to the bridge, with three bedrooms on one side and a small cargo hold and dining hall on the other.

And…that was pretty much it. The ship didn't need to be equipped with anything more to serve its purpose to the three archaeologists.

One tiny little relief was that there were only four people in the cramped bridge instead of five.

Droy had ended up staying behind. That civilian was still passed out in their med bay, and they couldn't just leave him to wake up on his own. They couldn't leave their ship unattended in the state it was in either, so he'd pledged to watch after things.

Natsu figured that Droy wouldn't have been much help anyways, no offense to him. The guy just wasn't really meant for combat, and the fewer people he had to worry about getting off that cruiser, the better.

Droy staying behind served another purpose, too, one that was much more grim. If the entire operation failed and none of them made it back alive, he was meant to send the log Erza had been keeping about Lucy and the other experiments the Alliance was conducting to the Council. That way, the Council would know what was coming, and maybe they could even put a stop to it before it really began. The Alliance may have retrieved Lucy, but there was still the matter of figuring out why she was a success and replicating the process on others. The whole thing could take months, maybe even years, which would give the Council plenty of time to make some headway of their own.

That was all only if things didn't go as planned though, and Natsu would do everything in his power to make sure that that didn't happen.

His focus snapped back to the screen when he caught sight of Freed moving out of frame, a broad, muscular build filling their view instead.

"Well, well, well," Laxus let out a prideful chuckle as he lounged in the chair Freed had previously occupied, "The little kiddies have finally realized they're not capable of surviving out in the big bad galaxy on their own?"

Erza didn't even bother with acknowledging his shoddy attempt at an insult, getting straight to business once more, "About a month ago, we took in a girl who was fleeing from the Alliance. She'd been experimented on and given almost super-human capabilities."

Natsu's eyes went wide in disbelief. He hadn't expected Erza to just outright spill all of the secrets they'd been keeping about Lucy. But he didn't try to cut her off despite his own shock and tick of anger, knowing that Erza had thought everything over as thoroughly as she could in the short time they'd had. If she was telling Laxus the whole truth, it meant she thought it was the best way to earn his aid.

"She doesn't have to eat to survive," Erza pressed on, "and she doesn't have to sleep as much as a normal human either. Instead, she gains energy from light, and she can control it, too. The Alliance attacked us just under forty minutes ago, and they took her back. They're planning on making an entire army of soldiers like her."

During her tale, Laxus had made himself comfortable, spinning his chair slightly to the side so he could recline with his feet up on the edge of the console. He had seemed a little intrigued at first, but towards the end, he'd obviously lost interest. His attention was otherwise occupied by picking dirt out from under his fingernails, "You know I don't have any stake in this game between the Council and Balam. What do I care if the Alliance has some new toys?"

Natsu's annoyance and dislike of Laxus got the better of him, the pilot shooting from his seat as he haughtily growled, "What do you mean 'what do I care?!' If the Alliance wins-"

"There will be a reward," Erza firmly stated, cutting him off.

Laxus hadn't flinched during Natsu's outburst, but at Erza's remark, he quirked a brow, showing his interest.

Erza tapped her fingers across the console, sending the image she'd captured of the creature when its body had still been sprawled across the greenhouse. She let the image speak for itself, not bothering to explain what could already be seen, "I know it'd be worth more alive, but as far as we know, it's the only one of its kind that's been killed and captured like this. Even just its carcass should be worth a fortune."

Laxus' gaze shifted off of them a tiny a fraction as the image appeared on his screen, his expression shifting. It was hard to read his features as they reacted to the image, but it certainly wasn't the smug pride he'd worn before. If Natsu had to guess, the blond was feeling a mixture of shock, disgust, and, most of all, some sort of fascination.

Erza played off of that last emotion, pushing on while Laxus was still processing what he was seeing, "If you help us, it's yours for the taking."

They almost had him.

It was written across his face. Whether it was his conceit or the risks posed by taking on a battle cruiser that were holding him back, they could all feel it. Just one more little push, and he would concede.

It seemed Gray was the one willing to give that last push, finally breaking his silence and stating the hard truth even though it was a small blow to his and his crew's pride, "We're up against an Alliance cruiser. Without the Thunderbird on our side, we don't stand a chance."

Laxus' face was nearly expressionless now, but his focus had returned to them. With a smugness in his eyes, it seemed the mechanic's words had sent his pride thrumming.

"And, if we die, you lose any chance at getting your hand on that thing," Gray ventured a bit more firmly. There was a heavy dose of cynicism in his voice as he taunted, "Or who knows, maybe you'll get lucky and the Alliance will sick one on your ship one day. Did Erza mention that it was intelligent and capable of surviving in space without protection?" He'd added the last bit with the intent of better conveying that the future was at stake, but also to slap Laxus in the face with the fact that his disinterest in the conflict would inevitably catch up to him one day.

A corner of Laxus' lips twitched in annoyance, but, with a heavy sigh, he relaxed further into his chair, pompously declaring, "Fine. I'll join in on your game of chase." His voice dropped as he ground out, "But you better stick to your side of the deal."

"We will," Erza pledged. "If we win and get our friend back-"

" _Friends,_ " Jet corrected in a little whisper, not loud enough for anyone to hear.

"-that thing is yours the moment we get back to our ship."

"I was in need of a little entertainment today anyways," Laxus hummed. "Freed, tell Ever and Bix to get ready for combat."

"We'll send their coordinates your way," Erza nodded as she glanced down at where Jet was tracking Levy, trying to keep the relief out of her voice all the while. "Feel free to set all hell loose when you get there."

* * *

In the last hour, Lucy had drowned, frozen to death in complete darkness, burned her flesh in the scorching heat of a desert where there was no night, and died from asphyxiation in the cold of space.

And yet, at the same time, none of it had happened. She'd endured the agony of her worst fears, and yet she'd somehow lived through it all.

It'd dumbfounded her the first time she'd woken, because the panic and suffering of drowning had been so, _so_ _real_. Yet there she was, back in her cell, without so much as a scratch. She was sweat-covered and exhausted, but completely unharmed. Healing technology was fast, but very few things could instantly be repaired. That fact had left her feeling even more confused as to how she was perfectly fine save for her head wound, but before she could flesh anything out, that man was back, stabbing her in the neck with that needle again.

After the delirium had worn off for the second time and she'd finally distinguished the cold of freezing to death from the chill of her cell, she'd figured things out. The hallucinations she was having were caused by whatever it was he was injecting into her system.

They could make her feel as much pain and fear as they wanted without actually harming her. And that terrified her.

Lucy liked to think she could be strong and endure it without being weak, but it wasn't like she was enduring it for anyone's sake other than her own, and she was hardly a selfish person. They weren't interrogating her and torturing her for information. They weren't asking her about how she'd escaped and where Jellal was and who else had helped her. There would be no breaking point when she finally caved and gave them what they wanted because they didn't really want anything from her. This was pure punishment, purposed only with causing her pain.

And it seemed she was about to get another bout of it.

They had to be monitoring her somehow from the outside, because it always only a few minute between when she started awake and when that guy was back again, ready to give her another dose.

There was a slight click before the door slid and disappeared into the wall, and he stepped into her cell with the same rhythm that he had the last four times. For now, she could see no syringe in his hand, but she knew it was there. She wondered why he always kept it up his sleeve until he was in her cell. Was whoever it was that was giving him orders trying to hide what they were doing to her from the rest of those onboard?

"…Please…not…not again…" she tried not to sound weak as she huffed out words between her panting, but it was hard when she was still gasping and heaving, the feeling of suffocating in the vacuum of space still lingering in her senses even though she'd never actually been deprived of any oxygen.

If she had a purpose, a clear idea of what she'd achieve by staying strong, then maybe she would've been able to do it. But it was hard to endure when she was entirely on her own and nearly consigned to her fate.

Pain was pain. Terror was terror. And she could only take so much of both.

He was still standing just inside the door, too far away to prick her with the needle again. But that didn't stop her from flinching away when his arm moved, another jolt jumping through her body at the loud clang that followed.

Something hit the floor, rolling until it came to a halt against her feet.

She looked down at the hard, plastic cylinder of water before glancing back up to him.

"Drink," he growled, glaring down at her with an unreadable expression.

Lucy stared at him for a moment before she moved to grab the bottle from where it'd rolled to a stop. She didn't have the mind to think of the possibility of it being something harmful, something other than water. It seemed that the unbearable feeling of thirst from wasting away in a merciless desert was still lingering, too, even though it hadn't really happened.

Unscrewing the lid was quite the task with her hands cuffed, but she managed. It clanked to the floor as she lifted the cylinder to her lips, pacing herself as she poured the water into her mouth, careful not to let any spill. Her hand was shaking all the while, both from the illusions she'd suffered and from keeping herself from scarfing it all down. The Alliance may have been toying with her mind, but it was still her own, and she knew that this may be the only water she'd receive for a while.

And she wouldn't need to feed for a few hours, but would they even risk taking her handcuffs off so she could use her ability to absorb light? She hadn't done much moving around other than picking her torso up off the floor from when she would collapse after being injected, but enduring her worst fears in her mind was steadily sapping away at her strength, even if it was all just in her mind.

Although she was trying to not think on it, she wondered what the next hallucination would be. Freezing to death and dying of heat and burns were fears that she'd developed as a child when her parents had warned her about the consequences of venturing beyond the livable zone of their planet, and her fear of drowning due to her inability to swim had also stemmed from her home world's environment. Dying in the cold of space was a more recently developed fear, one that had really dawned on her when she'd seen that wrecked spaceship the crew had scavenged about a week ago.

She was certain that whatever serum they were injecting her with was playing off of fears, but she couldn't think of anything else in particular that she was terribly afraid of, at least nothing that pertained to physical suffering. Now that her other, most prominent fears had been exhausted, maybe these nightmare-like, induced visions would shift, and they'd start playing off the fears that would emotionally exhaust her rather than physically.

Nightmares and dreams were sometimes built on memories or trauma, so who was she to say that these hallucinations couldn't play off of her past, too?

It seemed like that serum was designed to torment her, so what if it was capable of making her recall and relive all of the things from her past that she'd like to forget?

Her mother's death, the destruction of her planet and her capture by the Alliance, the things her father had done, and his death.

Or what if it used those horrid memories to craft visions of the few who she held dear that were still alive, and she had to watch them all die just like the friends and family of her past had?

If it did, she realized that part of those visions may not be entirely fictional. A few of her friends could very well be dead right now, for all she knew.

Her breathing was finally calming down, and despite her tentativeness, she was able to speak somewhat evenly as she asked, "My friends…Did…did you hurt them?"

He quirked a brow at her, and she was honestly a bit surprised when he actually responded, his voice low as he ground out, "You mean that crew you were hulled up with?"

She nodded, both hopeful and fearful of the answer she would receive.

He went silent as his fists suddenly clenched.

Lucy watched him with furrowed brows. He wasn't moving, save for the subtle, barely visible trembling of his fists. And he was still staring at her, but it didn't seem like he was really _seeing_ her. There was a lack of focus in his red irises, and it seemed that whatever it was that was happening was entirely internal.

Was he just debating on whether or not he should tell her, or was he fighting against the Alliance's control? While it was still very visibly effecting him, it didn't seem like they'd used anything that strong on him. He'd probably just been subject to one of the serums rather than having something implanted in his brain like they did with some. That meant that if his will was strong enough, he could overcome it, especially if it'd been a decent span of time since they'd injected him with it.

He suddenly turned from her, his fists still clenched and trembling.

The blonde went still. Was he actually leaving without injecting that stuff into her again?

He stepped beyond the door, which he'd left open, and before it slid shut behind him, she heard him grind out, "They're still alive."

Lucy let out a breath of relief, her eyes closing for the briefest moments.

Her friends were alive, and though she didn't know in what condition, that small thought was enough to give her some sense of ease.

The door slid shut, the sound resonating in the small, metal-enclosed space.

In his wake, Lucy let a small smile creep onto her features as she breathed out, "Thank you."

* * *

With Laxus on his way to the Alliance cruiser, it was time for Levy to disable the ship's FTL drive.

Gray had started up communication again with Levy on a tablet, secluding himself in the dining hall of the Shadow Gear to eliminate the possibility of the others, namely Natsu, pestering him while he guided Levy through the process of disabling the drive.

When he'd first establish contact with the girl once more, he learned that she'd done her part and found her way to the cruiser's engine room. He didn't bother with questioning her on how she'd managed that, knowing that there wasn't time to be wasted. If they succeeded, there'd be plenty of time for her to share her story later, anyways.

"You're sure you're alone, right?" he questioned, keeping his voice low since he knew it would be drifting through the speakers on her end.

"For now," she affirmed, also keeping her voice at a whisper as she snuck around the engine room in search of the FTL drive. "But this is a big place, so there could be lots of people I just haven't seen yet."

He tried to give her some small semblance of comfort and encouragement, "People don't really need to be there unless there's a problem. But they'll come running once the ship drops out of FTL, so get the hell out of there when you're done. Can you get out the same way you got in?"

"Hopefully," she mumbled, staying crouched as she moved forward, peeking around the edges of consoles and machinery in search of the drive.

Gray could see what she was seeing to some extent, the camera on the tablet she was hugging to her chest showing her search so that he could point out anything she happened to miss.

But Levy was pretty vigilant, the large, silver cylinder with glowing blue drives in the racks around its circumference catching her attention immediately, "There it is."

She leaned just her head past the console she was currently crouched beside, looking both ways and listening for any sounds of movement before she ran across the open space between her and the drive. She ducked herself on its other side so that she was between it and the consoles she guess monitored it, kneeling at its base before pausing to hear if she'd been spotted.

When there were no sounds other than those from the various machinery in the room, she let herself relax a bit, pulling away from the drive a small fraction before maneuvering her tablet so that Gray had a better shot of the tall cylinder, "So? What do you think?"

Gray bit his lower lip, pausing in thought for a moment, "Just stealing parts or damaging a small section isn't going to be enough. They'll have more than enough spare parts on board. You're gonna have to do some pretty significant damage. Like, Natsu-level damage."

She let out a frustrated sigh, "How am I going to do that without drawing attention to myself? I can't just start banging away."

"Some of Natsu's explosives would be handy right about now," the mechanic huffed out sourly.

Levy let out a tiny gasp, as if she'd remembered something. Her voice was unusually monotone as she stated, "I've got a bomb in my bag."

"What?!" Gray hissed, his control over the volume of his voice slipping a fraction.

"It's for clearing debris at our sights," she answered, already digging into her bag for the small case that contained her set of charges and a detonator. She let out a breath as she slid the metal box free of the fabric, setting it on the floor before unlatching the lid and staring at the explosive, "This'll work, right?"

"Hell yeah, it'll work! Why didn't you mention it sooner?"

"I forgot about it until now," she hissed. "I'm kind of freaking out, so just give me a break, okay?"

Gray would've thrown up his hands in a gesture of surrender and apology if he'd been speaking to her face to face, but with their conversation limited to voice-only, he settled for just moving on with the operation, "Planting that thing anywhere on the cylinder should be more than enough to do the trick."

Levy nodded, taking a deep breath as she used both hands to carefully lift one of the small, rectangular charges from its fitted, cushioned holder in the case. It was small, but it definitely had enough power to cause some significant damage. It was meant to clear debris, after all.

She held it flat against the drive, pressing the button on the side with her thumb to latch it on to the metal. On the detonator, she turned the explosive on, and it was ready to blow with the push of just one more button.

"Ready," she stated as she shoved the case back into her bag and moved to get the hell out of there.

When she was struck with a thought, she froze, turning back to face the drive with her voice full of hesitation, "This…this isn't going to kill people is it? We're traveling faster than light, and I'm bringing this whole ship to a stop in an instant."

Gray shook his head, even though he knew she couldn't see him as he assured, "The ship's systems should handle the stop just like it would any other drop from light-speed. It has counter-systems that will take care of the change in force and momentum."

"Right," she nodded, staring at the drive for a moment longer before she took off, keeping the detonator clenched tightly in her hand as she snuck back to the vent.

* * *

Lucy's eyes went wide as the dim lights in her room flickered, the ship shaking in time with the sound of a blast.

* * *

"Levy did it," Gray huffed out as he charged back onto the bridge, "The drive's busted. They're out of FTL."

There were a few shared looks of anticipation and assurance, but nothing was said because nothing needed to be said.

They had a plan, and they'd gone over it what seemed like a thousand times while they hadn't been able to do anything else other than travel at light-speed.

But now, that plan was officially set in motion.

Those aboard the Shadow Gear would be the ones _hopefully_ sneaking aboard the cruiser while the Thunderbird attacked the ship from the outside once they'd arrived, ideally causing some substantial damage and distracting some of the focus away from those infiltrating the ship. They weren't sure if there even was a manageable way to sneak aboard the cruiser without being noticed, but having the Thunderbird there to snag at least some portion of the Alliance's attention may give them the opening they needed.

There was a lot of uncertainty about the whole operation, but Natsu wasn't going to let that discourage him. They would get Levy _and_ Lucy back. He'd make sure of it.

* * *

 **AN**

 **Hello again! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **Once more, I would just like to state that I literally have no idea how accurate any of this is, but I figured that since its science _fiction,_ I can get away with having a few bits that are a little implausible.**

 **Anyways, thank you so much for reading! As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Knowing that people like this fic is what gives me the motivation to keep writing :)**


	15. Chapter 15

"Commander, there's a ship approaching."

Jose's dark lips twisted, his hands still clasped behind his back as he hissed, "One of ours?"

"No, sir," his subordinate answered, his fingers sliding and taping across his console in the corner of the bridge. "I'm unable to access its identification code. It could be from the Council."

"A single ship?" Jose quirked a brow in amusement.

Back on that planet in The Rim, Sol had taken too long to return, but with those three Council scum bound in Inhibitor's Chord, there was little they could have done to escape their fate. Regardless, if they _had_ somehow managed to call the Council for aid, this was a pathetic attempt. There wasn't much a single ship could do against a Balam battlecruiser.

"It doesn't seem to be slowing down, sir. It's headed right for us at light speed."

"Then let them come," his lips twitched into a grin, anticipation racing through him at the thought of a distraction from his frustration. They may have been stuck stagnant in space until the matter of the FTL drive could be resolved, the ship's engineers running around frantically trying to repair what had been caused by an apparent failure in the cooling systems. The entire matter riled him extensively, but at least there would be a show in the meantime, their force field activated and waiting to smash that ship to pieces up impact.

* * *

Natsu's fingers were wrapped tightly around the FTL thruster of the Shadow Gear, his jaw clenching as he awaited the perfect moment to drop from light speed.

There was only one place on that cruiser where they could penetrate the force field. If he dropped out of FTL too soon, he'd increase the amount of time it took to navigate to their infiltration point and he'd give the cruiser plenty of opportunities to blow them to bits. If he stopped too late, or rather, if he didn't stop at all, they'd wind up charging right into the cruiser's force field at light speed, which would also result in their ship getting smashed to bits. If that happened, not only would they all die, obviously, but Lucy and Levy would be left in the hands of the Alliance, too.

Natsu wasn't going to let that happen.

There was a narrow sweet spot in between stopping too early and not stopping at all, and that was exactly where the pilot was aiming. If he timed it right, they'd drop out of light speed just outside the hanger where Levy was waiting for them and they'd be able to charge right in before the Alliance could react.

That was the only place where the force field could be penetrated without having to shut it down completely. During battle, smaller ships almost always had to be deployed to fight off the enemy, and while those ships normally had a link with the cruiser's systems that allowed them to pass through the force field unharmed, ships could also be allowed through manually by temporarily shutting down the portion of the force field that spanned the entrance to the hanger.

Levy had somehow made her way there after blowing the FTL drive, using her knowledge and intuition to work the console at the door of the hanger to figure out how to let them through.

They were incredibly lucky that their entire operation depended on areas like the hanger and engine room where crew members typically weren't needed during normal travel. And now that Levy had blown up the FTL drive, attention was further drawn away from the hanger, which was a fairly safe distance from the engine room.

If their luck could stretch any further, maybe the hanger would stay as deserted as it was. The cruiser may not have realized that they were under attack yet and instead characterized what had happened to the FTL drive as a malfunction. And still, if they _did_ figure out that they were under attack, then they'd likely have labeled the threat as internal and they'd have little need to station crew members in the hanger.

The Alliance probably already knew that they were coming, too, due to radar and signals and the like. But it was unlikely that they'd raise alarm and take up arms because of a single ship, or at least that was what Natsu and his crewmates, plus Jet and Levy, were hoping for.

Erza's eyes had been anxiously jumping between the navigation screen and the pilot for the past few minutes, the increasingly short distance between their ship and the cruiser's coordinates beginning to worry her. In the seat to her left, she could tell that Jet was just as nervous from the way his fingers gripped the arms of his chair, and she was sure that in the seat behind her, Gray was feeling similarly unsettled despite his normally cool demeanor.

Although she usually trusted Natsu to pilot them with the expertise that he was known for, her nerves got the better of her, "Natsu! We're approaching too fast! We need to drop out of light speed now!"

Despite what Gray believed, the pilot actually did know better than to talk back to Erza. But his knowledge of the consequences was of little concern to him in this moment and he hissed, "I'm the damn pilot, so let me do my damn job!"

He kept his grip tight on the FTL thruster, his eyes on his navigation screen as he waited for the right moment to pull the thruster back. His other hand was on the control wheel, ready to steer the ship straight into the hanger the second they were out of light speed.

Normally, a drop out of light speed meant coming to a complete stop so that the ship's systems could switch from the FTL drive to the regular thrusters. But Natsu wanted to waste as little time as possible, though he'd be pushing the limits of the Shadow Gear by doing so.

If he'd been piloting their own ship and not the Shadow Gear, he knew that they'd be able to complete the switch from FTL to manual piloting almost instantaneously, but their own ship was still sitting back on a planet in the Rim with its FTL drive busted and a massive hole torn in its aft.

The damage done to their ship served as another reason for Natsu to punch Gajeel into the next star system over when he finally saw him again. The other reason was that that metal-faced bastard had hurt Lucy, so maybe Natsu would have to raise the bar and drop-kick him into the next galaxy instead.

And his chance to do so was quickly approaching, his hand yanking backwards on the FTL thruster before shooting to wrap around the controls for the manual thrusters as he shouted through his com, "Levy! Now!"

They dropped out of light speed and Natsu thrust the ship forward the second he was able to. He found himself right where he'd been aiming for, only a short distance away from the bottom of the cruiser's aft. It didn't seem like there was anything blocking their way into the hanger, but it wasn't unusual for force fields to be invisible to the eye until they were met with an opposing force.

That meant that the force field may still have been active, but Natsu drove the ship forward, despite Erza's panicked call of his name.

A shimmer passed through the space right before them a split second before the front of the ship reached it; the visualization of the force field's deactivation.

With that problem solved, Natsu focused on the other issue he'd created for himself: he was going much too fast to land the ship.

As they charged into the hanger, he pulled back on the thrusters to aim them in the opposite direction and slow their forward momentum, the cruiser's artificial gravity taking hold of them once they'd entered the hanger and leaving them subject to all of the jolts and jostles the change in acceleration caused.

Everyone slammed forward as far as their restraints would allow, their upper bodies getting jostled around as Natsu landed the ship the main walkway that split the ship's in the hanger in half. Normally, his landings were much smoother, but his forced deceleration in addition to his need to get going with the rescue operation had him acting a bit sloppily.

As Natsu shut down the ship's systems, the passengers finally had a moment to vent the frustrations and anxieties of the last few minutes.

"Don't you think that was cutting it a bit close?!" Gray hissed, furiously unbuckling his shoulder and waist restraints.

Natsu was similarly unfastening himself with equitable amounts of frustration, "If I'd dropped out of FTL any sooner, they would've blown us to bits!"

"Shut it!" Erza cut them off, leading the charge towards the back of the ship so they could disembark. "We need to hurry and get the hell out of the hanger. The Alliance knows that we're here, and they won't waste a second."

Jet nodded as the ramp began to lower, "So what's the plan?"

That seemed to halt Erza for a moment, a brief silence passing before she admitted, "I really didn't think we'd make it this far…getting on board was a lot easier than I thought it would be."

"They're too confident. That's why," Gray supplied.

"Levy!"

The blue haired girl was waiting at the bottom of the ramp for them and Jet ran to her, her head bobbing in a nod when Erza said, "I'm glad you're safe."

The two Shadow Gear crew members whispered a few quick sentences to each other and fell into step behind the other three on their hurried, but cautious jog out of the hanger, the red-head obviously questioning her about her well-being, to which the girl responded with a series of nods.

"Besides," Gray continued with what he'd been saying earlier, "getting off is going to be a hell of a lot harder than getting on was. We had the element of surprise coming here, but now that they know we're onboard, getting off ain't gonna be easy."

"Do we have a plan for how we're gonna do that yet?" Levy pitched in from behind.

"Doesn't matter," Natsu hissed, hurrying to press his back against the wall just inside of the blast doors that lead out into the corridor. He peeked his head past the doorway and drew his blaster as the rest followed suit and pressed themselves against either side of the blast doors, Erza, Jet, and Levy on one side and Natsu and Gray on the other.

There were alarms going off in the corridor, but the way was clear, so Natsu tucked his head back inside, "Saving Lucy is our top priority now. We worry about getting off the ship after we've found her."

Levy accepted the extra blaster Jet had brought along, slowly shaking her head, "I…this ship is huge. I didn't see any indication of where the cells might be. How are we going to find her?"

Erza bit her lip for a moment, her grip on the hilt of her sword tightening, "If we split up, we could cover more ground."

Natsu immediately protested, "The last time we split up, I got a fucking sword through my shoulder."

The pilot saw Levy's eyes widen as Jet's brows furrowed in surprise, but he knew he didn't have the time for storytelling, no matter how much he wanted to talk about how kick-ass Lucy had been in that moment.

Erza let out a heavy sigh as if she was still bothered by the fact that her crew mate had been hurt by one of her own weapons, "Then we won't go alone this time. We split into two groups so no one's on their own."

"I'm sticking with Levy," Jet demanded instantly.

Levy seemed a tiny bit annoyed by in his insistence, but Erza acquiesced with a nod, "I'll accompany you." She nodded her head in the direction of her two crew mates, "Natsu and Gray will go the other way."

"Why do I have to get stuck with this idiot?!" Gray hissed.

Natsu would have complained, too, if the circumstances were different. But this way, he could keep an eye on Gray and make sure that he did Lucy no harm. The mechanic seemed to have calmed down a bit since whatever had happened during their run in with Jose earlier, but Natsu still didn't trust him not to shoot the blonde again the second he saw her or abandon the mission if things got too dangerous.

Erza paid no mind to Gray's protest, continuing on with her plan, "Once Lucy's found, everyone heads back to the ship immediately. We don't leave until everyone's back on board the Shadow Gear." She suddenly looked a lot more grim, silence overcoming her for a few moments as she looked around at her four companions before solemnly continuing, "...But...if it comes down to it, the most important thing is getting Lucy off of this cruiser. She's too intertwined with the fate of the galaxy. We can't let the Alliance take her."

Natsu heard Gray's heavy, sharp sigh from behind him, but he ignored it, instead taking a moment to appreciate how Levy and Jet still seemed just as dedicated to the mission as ever. They had no idea who Lucy was or what was at stake, but yet they were still willing to help their friends out even though the situation was so dire.

Friendship really was an incredible thing.

Erza leaned past the doorway once more to make sure the way was still clear, Levy and Jet following her at her nod. They quickly but cautiously took off down the corridor to the right, each with their weapon of choice held at the ready.

Natsu made to go left, feeling Gray trail behind him.

"Wait," the mechanic suddenly whipped back around as another thought occurred to him, his long strides hurriedly carrying him to the console beside the entrance to the hanger.

With a few taps of his fingers, Gray closed the blast doors, and Natsu was expecting the mechanic to work some crazy hacking business to keep them shut. But instead, Gray simply aimed his blaster and shot the console dead on, the screen shattering to bits in time with the popping of sparks as the wiring behind the console was exposed. It seemed he wasn't afraid of getting electrocuted as he reached into the mess he'd created and tugged some of the wires out to further expose them, blasting them a second time to fry the connection even more. He shoved the frayed wires back down the hole for good measure, making sure gravity carried them down far enough that blasting a hole in the wall would be required to get them back out.

"There," he nodded in approval, turning back around to head in the direction he and Natsu had been assigned. "They'll probably try to deploy some ships once the Thunderbird gets here, so that'll slow 'em down a bit."

The pilot lingered in place in shock for a second before he charged to catch up with his crewmate, holding his blaster at the ready and keeping a watch for enemies as he hissed, "Uh, did you forget that _our_ ship is in there, too?! How the fuck are we supposed to get back in?!"

"I don't know! You're good at miraculously blowing shit up!"

Blasts sounded from the direction the others had gone before Natsu could spit back another insult and the pair of boys paused in their steps. The pilot could see that Gray wanted to go their friends' aid in the way he turned back around, his whole body tense and his grip on his blaster tightening as he stared in their direction. The mechanic broke his stare for only a moment to cast a glance Natsu's way, and the pilot understood that Gray was waiting to see what he would do since he was normally the impulsive one.

And hell, Natsu wanted to help them, too, but he always followed his gut, and his gut was telling him that he needed to trust in his friends. So he let out a heavy sigh, sharing one last glance with his crew mate before clenching his hand tighter on his blaster and continuing down the corridor, away from his friends.

His main goal now was finding and saving Lucy.

* * *

Lucy flinched as the door to her cell slid open just as she had feared- no…just as she had _known_ that it would. She knew that all of that noise from before and the ensuing alarms couldn't have meant anything good, yet she refused to let herself dwell on the many possibilities of what those sounds could have been. She didn't want to get her hopes up, nor did she want to think about the consequences that were to come if _they_ really were here.

The dark haired, metal-pierced man wasn't alone this time. Jose Porla stood behind him, an involuntary chill ricocheting up her spine as she looked at her primary tormentor for the first time in over a month.

Always, he'd been the one to stand watch for those five years she'd spent in the Alliance's clutches. He'd never taken part in the experimentation and the trials directly, but he'd always been there, manipulating from over people's shoulders and observing her 'progress' with a cold, but satisfied stare.

She'd thought that the day she'd escaped would be the last time she'd ever have to see him. She'd imagined that if she ever were to be recaptured by the Alliance, it'd be this 'Spriggan' guy who she'd be taken to, not Porla.

And yet here he was, standing at the door of her cell, his expression making his intentions clear.

There would be no injections this time. Whatever was coming wouldn't be pleasant for her, but at least she could find some semblance of comfort in her belief that they wouldn't hurt her…at least not too bad. She was too valuable to be physically roughed up, and although she found that thought disgusting, it was the only positive thing she could come up with. Despite herself, she couldn't help but to yearn for _something_ to be optimistic over, and since she wasn't going to let herself consider the danger a certain crew of three would put themselves in if it really was them that had caused such a ruckus, she chose to think that maybe, _just_ maybe she would make it through the next few hours without losing any blood.

The black haired man stepped through the door in the same manner he had the previous times: completely silent and staring emotionlessly down at her through his purple-rimmed, bloodshot eyes as he approached. Lucy didn't flinch or shrink away as he got right in front of her and bent forward to roughly grip her elbow, instead using the little strength she had left in her legs to help push herself to her feet to lessen the strain on her arm as she was tugged upwards.

Maybe she didn't fight back because she knew it was pointless, but then maybe it was because she felt like she could trust this metal-studded man not to hurt her, or at least she could trust him a hell of a lot more than she could ever see herself trusting Jose. Yes, he had been the one to attack her back on the ship that'd become her safe haven, and yes, he had also been the one to inject her with the serum that'd forced her to live through her worst fears.

But now she was almost positive that he was under some sort of mind manipulation, and if their last interaction was anything to go by, then the Alliance's hold on him was beginning to slip, at least a fraction. His will must have been incredibly strong if he was breaking free of their control and withstanding the side effects of having his mind toyed with, and his resistance against their commands would only get stronger with time if he didn't receive another treatment soon.

And from the urgency of their pace as this man followed Jose's charge out of the cellblock with her in tow, she guessed that the Alliance wouldn't have the time to issue him another dose of their invasive drug for a while.

Her legs struggled to match his pace and keep herself upright as she was tugged along, stumbling over her own feet more than a few times. It didn't help that the guy gripping her elbow was around a good foot and a half taller than her, leaving her little legs floundering to keep up with his wide strides.

Her gaze shot across their surroundings, their urgency issuing a panic within the blonde as she asked, "Where are you taking me?"

Silence. Not like she expected an answer, but it was still worth trying, was it not?

Though, as she continued to be carted off down the corridor by her elbow, she discovered that an answer came to her anyways.

She recognized the layout of the ship, which she now realized was a typical Alliance cruiser. It was similar to one she'd been on previously, before she, Jellal, and a few other Balam members had departed on a smaller ship, the one Jellal later hijacked, that would take her to Spriggan. During her time on the cruiser, she'd been taken all across the ship to find the best place from which to feed, the change in their surroundings leading to an inconsistency in the best source of natural light.

She knew that the corridor they were in now would lead to the escape pods. She couldn't fathom how the cruisers had been designed with the cells and escape pods on the same level, but, then again, she'd never heard of anyone who'd been able to break free of one of the cells she'd just been in. Like always, the Alliance's strength was in their continuously advancing technology, and she doubted that there was anyone who could get out of their own volition once they'd been thrown in.

Such ponderings were for a later time though.

It seemed that Jose was trying to get her off the ship before they'd reached any clear location, and Lucy knew that they were nowhere in particular because she hadn't ever felt the ship enter any atmosphere or dock.

Their hurry to get her off of the ship meant that they would somehow risk losing her if they kept her onboard, or at least that was the only reasonable deduction Lucy could come up with.

If she was right, then that meant that maybe there was still a fighting chance at her escaping the Alliance's clutches. Staying on the ship seemed to mean increasing the chances of Balam losing her, and she knew her best bet at fighting to stay aboard was tugging her along by her right elbow.

This guy was being controlled and toyed with, not all that different from how she'd been manipulated, though it was mentally for him and physically for her. There was nothing that could be done to undo how she'd been changed, but she could tell that Balam's hold over this guy was weak and his will was strong.

Earlier, he'd given her the comfort of knowing that Natsu, Gray, and Erza were still alive. That had to have been of his own volition, she had no doubt. The Alliance would have wanted to withhold information of that kind from her for the sake of breaking her into submission. They would never have commanded him to tell her anything that would incite the spark of hope that was beating in her chest, and now that spark of hoping was waxing fuller, not for her own sake, but for his, too. If she could help him break their control, then maybe they'd both be able to make it free.

She would have whispered her next to words to him if she hadn't known that it was fruitless. Jose was only a short distance ahead of them, and despite their heavy steps and the alarms setting off commotion across the rest of the ship, she knew he'd hear her no matter how quiet she tried to be. And her breathing had picked up again in her exhaustive attempts to keep herself on her feet, making whispering all the more implausible.

So she decided to just risk it, and maybe she'd succeed before Jose could intervene. She fought to get closer to the man's side, scrambling along on the balls of her feet as she tried to get as close to his ear as possible and hurriedly pressed, "You can fight it. Lots of people are going to die if you let them take me!"

"It won't work," Jose immediately hissed over his shoulder, knowing what she was planning without even having to look over his shoulder. His hands were still clasped behind his back, and his pace didn't slow even a fraction as he ground out, "He's already let you get away once. He won't fail again unless he wants to lose his life."

Lucy's brows furrowed.

He'd already let her get away once? She was pretty sure she'd never seen this man before he'd attacked her on the other ship because she would've remembered someone with a face pierced as excessively as his was.

And she'd only been six different places since she'd last been in the Alliance's hands: the ship Jellal had hijacked; the other ship they'd used and the planet he'd stashed it on; the Helios station; Natsu, Gray, and Erza's ship; and Ameri.

It clicked all at once, a sharp inhale sliding through her lips as she exclaimed, "You're the one Juvia was talking about!"

The name seemed to break through to him. His steps faltered and he slowed to a stop, his grip on her arm tightening as his brows furrowed as if he was confused as to why he was feeling the way he was.

"She's waiting for you, Gajeel!" Seeing that she was getting to him, Lucy continued down the path she'd started on, hoping that using his name would further her chances of success, "She doesn't care about everything that's happened! She still thinks of you as a friend!"

In her desperation to make Gajeel return to himself, she missed Jose's hand reach for the weapon in the holster at his hip.

Lucy pressed on, "She wants you to come home-"

Pain erupted across her thigh, a scream spilling from her lips as her legs caved beneath her. Her elbow slipped from Gajeel's grasp as she crumpled, though it was still impossible for her to catch herself with her hands secured together like they were.

A resounding thud followed the smacking of her head against the metal paneling of the floor, the tip of Jose's blaster, which was still aimed in her direction, flashing into her line of sight as her head shot back up on the rebound.

This had happened to Gray back on Ameri, hadn't it? She hadn't been conscious when he'd taken a blast to the thigh, but she'd gotten a few tired glances of him when they'd all been in the medical wing afterwards.

During the short few days she'd known him, she'd characterized Gray as being rather stoic and almost untouchable. But after he'd been shot, she'd gotten more than few glances of him completely out of his usual character. She supposed she should've known how bad getting blasted in the leg would hurt from the way he'd clenched his jaw and squeezed his eyes tightly shut.

But nothing could have prepared her for it, even if she hadn't been caught off guard.

This wasn't anything like the pain she'd endured for the past few hours, where her mind had tormented her with fearful hallucinations and phantom traces of suffering.

This was _real._ And hell, it _hurt._

She couldn't tell exactly where she'd been hit. The whole of her right thigh pulsed with pain, the burning contrasted by the feel of her blood acclimating to the colder air as it escaped her skin…Wasn't there an artery somewhere in the upper leg? Her home had never been particularly advanced in the fields of medicine or biology, but Jellal had done his best to educate her on everything he could during the time he had served as her caretaker.

If she did remember correctly, then she hoped that the blast hadn't punctured it. She didn't want to die.

She'd thought about the grim prospect that was her fate more often than she cared to count. If it ever came down to her own life or the fate of the world, then she like to think her resolve was strong enough and that she would be able to lay down her own life for the sake of the galaxy. But if there was any other option that allowed her to live _and_ preserve the galaxy's peace, then she would choose it.

If there was anything she'd learned during her month on that ship with Natsu, Gray, and Erza, it was that there was a whole lot more to this galaxy than just the conflict between the Council and the Alliance. There'd been dozens plants she'd never seen before in their ship's greenhouse, and from that glass sphere she'd been able to pay witness to a sight she couldn't tolerate never seeing again. There were hundreds of stars out there, some surrounded by their own systems with planets that potentially housed countless lifeforms, landscapes, and spectacles. To someone who had been kept in captivity for a great portion of her youth, the galaxy seemed endless, and she wanted to see all of it.

But for now, she couldn't move. Not to see the extent of her wound nor to make any attempt at escaping to fulfill her wish to live and to do so free of the Alliance's hands. Her mind and body were so overwhelmed with the pain that all she could do was writhe where she'd collapsed, the agony keeping her from doing anything other than squirming but also unsettling her out of remaining still. Her thoughts were growing fuzzier the longer she lay there, too, the pain slowly moving from consuming her body to picking away at her mind, too.

"Grab her before she composes herself."

A voice reached her senses, her ears jumbling and blurring the words as if she was underwater. The beating of her own heart was one of the few things she could hear clearly, her breathing hammering heavily to keep pace with its rapid pulsing.

She couldn't do much other than stare and heave for breath, her half-lidded gaze blearily drifting between the two men standing over her as they both remained still despite the order that was just accorded.

Gajeel was just staring back down at her, or more accurately her wound, his expression unreadable.

"I said _grab her_!"

There was another moment of stillness before whatever holding Gajeel back was overcome by his need to comply with the man controlling him, albeit a bit reluctantly, it seemed. His gaze shot elsewhere, and as he fisted his hand in the numbered collar of her shirt, he still refused to look down at her, almost as if looking at her would make it harder to comply with the commands his mind was being forced to fulfill.

A shallow gasp escaped her as her torso was yanked upwards, but she didn't scream until he started pulling her forward, the friction of her leg dragging against the floor tearing at her wound further.

Her elevated position gave her a new perspective, one where she didn't have to fight as hard to finally get a glance at her leg. Her head lolled, but she fought against the dizziness and shock to lift her head and direct her gaze to where it needed to be, the new bought of pain from being dragged snapping her back to her senses a fraction.

Her eyes widened when she finally caught sight of it.

Blood poured from where a chunk of her flesh had been blasted away from the front of her thigh, the now loose edges of her flesh folding out into the air. The fabric of her leggings had been singed away, allowing her to see that the veins around the wound were dark, almost purple in color as they snaked beyond the hole that'd been burned in the fabric.

Had Gray's wound looked this gruesome? She remembered seeing that his skin was burned and raw, but it hadn't seemed like an entire chunk of his flesh was missing, nor had any of his veins seemed as discolored as hers were.

Maybe he'd just been skimmed by the blast rather being struck dead on by it like she had been, but Lucy wouldn't put it past an Alliance commander to have a blaster who's capabilities went beyond that of a standard model.

It was like little traces of that hot, scalding sensation were still worming their way through her system in the aftershock of the blast, and she had no doubt that the purple color of her veins was a visualization of that sensation.

Though Lucy was positive that she'd managed to get through to Gajeel, he continued to drag her forward towards the escape pods in Jose's wake, seemingly back under the call of the Alliance's manipulation, at least for the moment.

Lucy hoped that he would break free again, but for now, her only hope rested in the crashes and blasts of ten minutes prior.

* * *

 **AN**

 **I know, it's not much, but it's something...**

 **If you haven't read the reason for my hiatus on my profile, here's an abridged version: a tree hit my house and smashed my laptop to bits, so I lost everything I had saved up for this story and my other stories.** **I literally had pages and pages of stuff written out that had all of my plans for this story and I even had several chapters written out ahead of time, but that's all gone now.** **Then, add in a lawsuit against the city, moving, going back to college, and increasing my work hours on top of all of that frustration.**

 **So yeah...I'm mad, upset, and completely lacking motivation all at the same time...I'm slowly starting to recover motivation and piece my plans for this story back together from memory and I don't anticipate being gone for three months again, but just please be patient and encouraging with me if it takes me longer than it used to to release new chapters.**

 **Regardless, thanks to everyone whose stuck with me and read this. And a special thank you to all those who left reviews and pms while I was gone. You guys are the reason I pushed myself to start writing again. You don't know how much your feedback and encouragement means :)**


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